– This is a clear signal to the West, Dmitry Peskov, who is a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, told Reuters. He says on Thursday that the world is witnessing provocations due to Western countries supporting Ukraine militarily, including countries with nuclear weapons. – This is a warning about the consequences for countries that choose to support attacks on our country, says the spokesman. Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Photo: Mikhail Metzel / Reuters – It does not necessarily apply to attacks with nuclear weapons, but with different types of weapons, says Peskov. – Will be considered a “joint attack” The warnings from Putin’s spokesperson come the day after the Russian president presented a proposal for changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine. Putin said the changes mean Russia can use nuclear weapons if it is attacked by any state, and that any conventional attack on Russia backed by a nuclear power would be considered a “joint attack”. The statements are placed in the context of the fact that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi has urgently asked Western countries to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against military targets inside Russia. Key backers such as the US and Germany have held back. Putin suggests that Moscow will consider using nuclear weapons if it detects a large-scale launch of missiles, aircraft or drones against the country. The United States and the EU: – Recklessly and irresponsibly, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is among those who react strongly to Putin’s threats to respond to powerful airstrikes with nuclear weapons. – The president of Russia is totally irresponsible, says Blinken, writes the AFP news agency. US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken. Photo: Caitlin Ochs / AP – Many react to Putin again rattling the “nuclear weapons sabers”, says Blinken. The US foreign minister reminds that China has also criticized Putin in the past. The EU also condemns the warnings from Russia. – This is not the first time that Putin is playing a high game with the country’s nuclear weapons arsenal, says spokesman for foreign affairs in the EU, Peter Stano. – We condemn these threats from the Russian side, says Stano. He describes it as “reckless and irresponsible” that Putin might respond with nuclear weapons if Ukraine launches a massive air strike against Russia. Norwegian expert: – Threats to create uncertainty Ståle Ulriksen, who is a university lecturer at the Naval Academy, feels the development between Ukraine and Russia closely. – It plays directly into western debates about how we should be able to support Ukraine, Ulriksen says to news. Ståle Ulriksen at the Naval Academy. Photo: Erlend Koppergård – Let’s say that the Americans allow the missiles they supply to be used against Russian air bases in a large part of Russia. That will be difficult for the Russians to handle. – It has been shown before that the Russians can influence that debate with threats about nuclear weapons. Ulriksen believes that the military support from the West has varied from small weapons to increasingly advanced weapons. The Russians want to influence the further support. – And the strategy is designed in such a way that you can use it against a country that supports Ukraine and that has nuclear weapons, says Ulriksen at the Norwegian Naval Academy to news. – Then the Russians meet both the USA, Great Britain and France and the debates there. And so this works in relation to Germany, for example. What they have said is that they are not going to allow German missiles to be used against targets in Russia. Ulriksen believes that if the Russians are serious about using limited nuclear weapons, they can say that the outside world was warned. – I think the point is to promote uncertainty so that one cannot be completely sure what the Russians are going to do. – The debate in the West about what you should give of weapons systems and their use, it has moved all the time, Ulriksen points out to news. – In the beginning, we didn’t want to give anything, almost. From helmets and smaller weapons, we gradually move to tanks and fighters. – Step by step, we are moving to long-range missiles, which they have already received some of, but which Ukraine is not allowed to use far into Russia. The Russian leadership knows that Western countries are unsure of how far they can go. Nobody quite knows where Putin’s red line goes. – Nuclear blackmail Putin and other Russian leaders have on a number of occasions hinted at the possibility of using nuclear weapons in connection with the conflict in Ukraine. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi’s chief of staff Andriy Jermak calls Putin’s plan nuclear blackmail, writes NTB. – Russia no longer has any instruments left to frighten the world with, apart from nuclear blackmail. This instrument will not work, says Jermak. Published 26/09/2024, at 17.37
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Warning to the West – Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine is changing – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
