Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s National Security Council, once again mentioned nuclear weapons in relation to Russia’s attack on Ukraine, dpa news agency and Newsweek reported on the 11th (local time).
Deputy Chairman Medvedev, who is considered a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin, warned on Telegram that day that Ukraine could respond with a nuclear attack if it attacked a missile launch site on Russian territory using long-range missiles provided by the West.
Medvedev said Ukraine’s attack risks violating Article 19 of Russia’s “Principles of State Policy in the Field of Nuclear Deterrence,” adding that all those who support Ukraine “must remember this.”
The national policy principles in the field of nuclear deterrence contain the nature of the country’s nuclear deterrence and the standards for the use of nuclear weapons, and were revised in June 2020. The previous national policy principles in the field of nuclear deterrence were adopted with a 10-year term in 2010, during Medvedev’s term as president.
Reuters reported that the clause states that Russia can use nuclear weapons to respond to an attack using nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction, or to respond to the use of conventional weapons against Russia.
“This is not a right of self-defense, but a direct and clear basis for the use of nuclear weapons against such states,” Medvedev wrote.
This is not the first time that Deputy Chairman Medvedev has hinted that Russia could attack a NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) member that provided support to Ukraine. He claimed in December 2022 that NATO members supporting Ukraine could be “legitimate military targets.”
He has been viewed as a hardliner ever since the outbreak of Russia’s war in Ukraine and has threatened to use nuclear weapons, but there is no concrete evidence that Russia is actually planning to do so, dpa noted.
Attacks on Russian air bases intensified in the fall of 2023. According to Ukraine’s intelligence service, one such attack in August last year destroyed four Russian Il-76 military transport planes stationed at an airfield in the western city of Pskov, near Russia’s borders with Estonia, Latvia and Belarus. In keeping with Ukraine’s policy of distancing itself from attacks on Russian territory, the intelligence service did not claim responsibility.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.