Moscow (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Moscow’s top security official, Sergei Shoigu, in an interview with the TASS state news agency said Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event it faces aggression by Western nations.
Shoygu stated that according to the revised National Security Strategy, if foreign nations act unfriendly towards Russia, threatening its sovereignty or territorial integrity, Moscow might employ both symmetrical and asymmetrical responses to deter these actions and prevent them from happening again.
As reported, Shoigu’s remarks arise as U.S. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance caution that US may abandon efforts to negotiate a peace settlement in Ukraine if progress on a deal is not made soon. Since assuming the presidency in January, Trump has disrupted U.S. policy regarding the three-year-old conflict, urging Ukraine to accept a ceasefire while reducing pressure on Russia.
Is Shoigu signalling a new Russian nuclear posture?
Shoigu, who held the position of Russia’s defence minister for more than ten years before being appointed to lead its influential security council during a government reshuffling last year, referenced changes to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine that were endorsed by President Vladimir Putin in November.
Under the new terms, Russia could consider a nuclear strike in response to a conventional attack on Russia or its ally Belarus that
“created a critical threat to their sovereignty and (or) their territorial integrity.”
What triggers a nuclear strike under Russia’s doctrine?
“In November 2024, amendments were introduced to the Fundamentals of the State Policy of the Russian Federation on Nuclear Deterrence, affirming that Russia reserves the right to employ nuclear weapons in the event of aggression whether nuclear or conventional against itself or the Republic of Belarus,”
He explained.
“…in the event of foreign states committing unfriendly actions that pose a threat to the sovereignty and territory integrity of the Russian Federation, our country considers it legitimate to take symmetric and asymmetric measures necessary to suppress such actions and prevent their recurrence,”
‘Shoigu stated.
