Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved an updated nuclear doctrine, Reuters reported, citing a document published on the website of the Russian government.
Just weeks before the US presidential election on November 5, Putin ordered changes to the nuclear doctrine and said that any conventional attack on Russia backed by nuclear power could be considered a joint attack on Russia.
The change in Russia's official nuclear doctrine is the Kremlin's response to the decision by the administration of US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to launch long-range US missiles deep into Russian territory, Reuters notes.
The updated doctrine, which outlines the threats that would prompt the Russian leadership to consider a nuclear strike, says an attack by conventional missiles, drones or other aircraft could be considered to meet those criteria. It also states that any aggression against Russia by a country that is a member of the coalition will be considered by Moscow as aggression against it by the entire coalition.
Meanwhile, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the purpose of the updated Russian nuclear doctrine is to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies.
Peskov also stressed that any attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state involving a nuclear state would be considered a joint attack.
He also said that "the Russian military is monitoring the situation very closely" after reports emerged that Ukraine may be using US ATACMS missiles in Russia's Kursk region.
The war in Ukraine has caused the worst crisis in Moscow's relations with the West since the 1962 Cuban missile crisis.