The United States (U.S.) is not surprised by Russia’s decision to lower its threshold for a nuclear strike and has no plans to adjust its nuclear posture in response, the White House announced on Tuesday.
“As we stated earlier this month, we are not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it will update its nuclear doctrine. Russia has been signaling for several weeks its intention to revise its doctrine,” the U.S. National Security Council said in a statement.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a broader range of conventional attacks. Moscow stated that Ukraine had struck deep inside Russian territory using U.S.-made ATACMS missiles.
“Given that there are no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture, we see no reason to adjust our nuclear position or doctrine in response to today’s statements by Russia,” the statement said yesterday. It also noted Russia’s use of North Korean military forces in Ukraine, which the U.S. considers a significant escalation.
On Tuesday, Putin approved an updated version of Russia’s nuclear doctrine, stating that the country could consider using nuclear weapons if subjected to conventional missile attacks backed by a nuclear power.
The Kremlin’s decision to revise its official nuclear doctrine comes in response to the Biden administration’s announced decision to allow Ukraine to fire long-range U.S. missiles deep into Russian territory.
The updated doctrine, outlining the threats that could prompt Russia’s leadership to consider a nuclear strike, states that an attack with conventional missiles, drones, or other aircraft could meet these criteria.
The doctrine also specifies that any aggression by a member state of a coalition against Russia will be considered by Moscow as collective aggression by the entire coalition.
For the first time since the war began, Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles on Tuesday to strike Russian territory, according to official reports from Moscow.
Russia announced that its military forces intercepted five out of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region. The site was struck by missile debris, but there were no casualties or material damage.
Ukraine reported hitting a weapons depot approximately 110 kilometers inside Russia, causing secondary explosions. The type of weapon used was not specified.
