News Brief
Putin Threatens Nuclear Action After Western Support For Ukraine’s Deep Strikes On Russian Territory
Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke at the Valdai Discussion Club on 27 October. (Photo: Valdai Discussion Club/Twitter)
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Wednesday (25 September) issued a nuclear warning to Western nations in the event of a "massive" air attack on Russia.
This includes the use of cruise missiles which the UK has supplied to Ukraine for Kyiv to target locations deep within Russian territory.
Putin’s nuclear warning followed an emergency meeting with Moscow’s top security officials, where discussions centred on Russia's nuclear deterrence.
Putin’s threat comes amid rising concerns in Moscow over Ukraine's potential use of Western-supplied cruise missiles, particularly those provided by the UK and US, against Russian targets.
The United Kingdom, last week, reportedly authorised the use of its ‘Storm Shadow’ cruise missile to strike Russian targets.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer travelled to Washington, DC, where discussions with US President Joe Biden reportedly included Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied weaponry on Russian territory.
Speaking about the reports that the United States and United Kingdom are about to give clearance to Ukraine for Kyiv to launch cruise missiles on Russian soil, President Putin said this month that, "The West would be directly fighting with Russia if it gave such permission to Ukraine (to bomb Russia)" adding that Moscow would be forced to make "appropriate decisions" in such a scenario.
As the world's largest nuclear powers, Russia, along with the United States, controls 88 per cent of the global nuclear arsenal.
Russia's current nuclear doctrine was set in place by Vladimir Putin four years ago, before the war with Ukraine broke out.
According to this policy, Russia may resort to nuclear force in response to a nuclear strike or if a conventional attack threatens the nation's existence.
