Putin approves new nuclear weapons doctrine for Russia. Here's what it means.

If the Kremlin was hoping to instill fear among its Western foes by lowering the bar for using nuclear weapons, then it may have been disappointed Wednesday.

If the Kremlin was hoping to instill fear among its Western foes by lowering the bar for its use of nuclear weapons, then it may have been disappointed Wednesday.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's broadened nuclear doctrine appeared to be a thinly veiled threat to the United States and its allies over their ramped-up support for Ukraine.

The updated document includes a change that allows for Moscow to launch a nuclear strike if attacked by a nonnuclear country, such as Ukraine, that is supported by a nuclear state, such as the U.S. It was formally approved the same day that Kyiv used its first U.S.-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia.

But while the chances of Putin deploying a devastating nuclear weapon in his war with Ukraine are never nil, world leaders and analysts alike expressed doubts that the change amounted to much more than a new and more intense effort to deter the West.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin told NBC News that he saw no indication that Moscow is imminently intent on using nuclear weapons.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/putin-nuclear-doctrine-changes-russia-ukraine-war-west-rcna180772

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