Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday lowered the bar for the use of nuclear weapons against Western countries, further escalating an already protracted war that has claimed hundreds of thousands of lives and shows no signs of ending.
president putin announced inside meeting On Wednesday, Russia's Security Council said that if a non-nuclear state, such as Ukraine, supports a severe missile attack on Russia, the country's nuclear doctrine prohibits the use of such weapons against other states with nuclear capabilities. announced that it will be expanded to include the possibility of . The warning came during President Joe Biden's speech. announcement An additional $8 billion in military aid to Ukraine was announced on Thursday, with Western countries reportedly considering allowing Kiev to use long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory. There is. (Related: Russian media banned for “foreign meddling activities”)
Ben Friedman, policy director at Defense Priorities, told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Putin is likely calling a “bluff,” but that the U.S. risks allowing Ukraine to take such action. He said it wasn't worth it.
“I think it's pretty unlikely that Russia would use nuclear weapons in response to these hypothetical attacks. But how much do you want to bet on that? How much do you want to bet that Putin is bluffing? I don’t think there are too many,” Friedman told DCNF. “You want to be very careful. The United States has no security interest in taking such risks in a conflict that could escalate to a larger war, even a nuclear exchange in the worst-case scenario.” I don't have it.
RUSSIA – SEPTEMBER 25: Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses the Presidium of the State Council in the Senate Palace of the Kremlin. (Photo credit/Getty Images)
Putin told the Security Council that nuclear doctrine was being updated due to “new sources of military threats and risks to Russia and its allies,” according to multiple reports.
“The updated version of the document proposes that an invasion of Russia by a non-nuclear-weapon state should be considered a joint attack against the Russian Federation if there is the participation or support of a nuclear-weapon state,” Putin said. spoke. The council on Wednesday noted that the conditions for launching a nuclear weapon are based on “credible information regarding large-scale launches of aerospace attack vehicles and their crossing of state borders,” according to the paper.
“In case of aggression against Russia and Belarus, we reserve the right to use nuclear weapons,” Putin said.
As the United States and Europe continue to help defend Ukraine against a Russian invasion that began in 2022 and shows no signs of stopping, the threat of Russia's use of nuclear weapons has been brought up frequently. President Putin has especially issued such warnings about Western countries' indirect involvement in the war, primarily in the form of military aid to Ukraine.
We have allocated more than $55 in the US alone billion Since 2022, significant military assistance has been provided to Ukraine, while European partners have committed Approximately $46 billion over the same period.
However, certain rules and regulations are imposed on military aid to Ukraine, especially regarding how weapons can be used to attack Russia. For much of the war, Western powers restricted Ukraine from using the weapon to attack inside Russia, but that ban was recently lifted, allowing Ukrainian forces to launch attacks on Russian border areas. Now you can start. (Related: Trump considers plan to cut aid to Ukraine unless Kiev agrees to negotiate peace deal with Moscow)
But Ukraine is demanding more permission from the West to use its weapons. Kiev says it should be allowed to use long-range missiles provided by the United States and Europe to attack targets deep inside Russian territory, a move the United States says increases risks with Russia. I'm wary of that.
NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 25: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy shakes hands with US President Joe Biden on the sidelines of the 79th United Nations General Assembly. (Photo by ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)
But now many countries sign They would allow Ukraine to use long-range systems to attack Russia, including Britain and France, but they want the US to give the green light first, and some European partners have delayed approval. are dissatisfied with.
“It would be really good to have no delays, and I think restrictions on the use of weapons should be lifted,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. said Bloomberg on Monday.
The United States and Western powers have stepped up Ukraine's military efforts over the past two years through massive financial aid, but this has done little to change the course of the conflict. Ukraine is suffering from worsening human resource shortages, with soldiers killed in fighting along the war's eastern flank and forced to withdraw from areas along the eastern border as Russian forces advance. There is.
Russia gained small amounts of territory on the Eastern Front, but at the cost of hundreds of thousands of soldiers' lives and hundreds of billions of dollars in expenditures. Some Russian forces are currently fighting back against Ukrainian forces that breached the Russian border and invaded Kursk in August. According to to Reuters.
According to secret Ukrainian estimates, more than 1 million Russians and Ukrainians have been killed or injured since the war began in 2022. reviewed According to the Wall Street Journal.
With only a few months left in power, the Biden administration is starting to run out of options to help Ukraine, and is moving toward allowing Kiev to use long-range weapons as long as it is provided by Europe, not the United States. There is a possibility of cutting. President Joe Biden and his team have faced criticism for appearing to fail to implement an endgame strategy or outline a path to a peace agreement.
“Biden could certainly reverse course,” Friedman told the DCNF, adding that he could either help further strengthen Ukraine's defense operations or put pressure on Kiev and Moscow to negotiate a peace deal. he said. “But I don't think he will, because this White House's approach seems very entrenched.”
The State Department and White House did not respond to requests for comment.
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