World

Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of vast nuclear arsenal

Published

3 months ago

September 26, 2024

Putin outlines new rules for Russian use of vast nuclear arsenal

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if it were attacked with conventional arms in the latest changes to the country’s nuclear doctrine.

In a televised meeting of Russia’s Security Council, Putin announced that under the planned revisions, an attack against the country by a non-nuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” would be seen as a “joint attack on the Russian Federation”.

Putin emphasised that Russia could use nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack that posed a “critical threat to our sovereignty”, a vague formulation that leaves broad room for interpretation.

The Russian president is the primary decision-maker on Russia’s nuclear arsenal and needs to give his final approval to the text.

The change appears to significantly lower the threshold for Russia to use atomic weapons and comes as Ukraine’s Western allies consider whether to allow Kyiv to use longer-range weapons to strike military targets deep inside Russia, and a month after Kyiv launched a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region.

Putin did not refer to Ukraine directly, but said the revisions to the doctrine were necessary in view of a swiftly changing global landscape that had created new threats and risks for Russia.

Russia is making slow but incremental gains in Ukraine since it launched its full-scale invasion of the country two and a half years ago and is trying to dissuade Kyiv’s Western allies from strengthening their support.

Putin has made several implicit threats of nuclear attack since launching his war and has suspended Russian participation in the the New START treaty with the US, which limits the number of nuclear warheads each side can deploy.

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged Western powers to disregard Russia’s threats, and his chief of staff, Andriy Yermak, said Putin’s latest remarks were little more than blackmail.

“Russia no longer has any instruments to intimidate the world apart from nuclear blackmail,” Yermak said. “These instruments will not work.”

‘Never good’

Russia’s existing nuclear doctrine, set out in a 2020 decree, says Moscow could use its nuclear arsenal in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack “when the very existence of the state is in jeopardy”.

Russia’s hawks have been calling for toughening the doctrine for months, claiming the current version is too vague and leaves the impression that Moscow would not ever resort to using nuclear weapons.

Putin stressed the revised doctrine spelled out conditions for using nuclear weapons in greater detail, and that they could be used in case of a massive air attack.

“Conditions for Russia’s move to use nuclear weapons are clearly stated” in the revisions, he said.

“We will consider such a possibility when we receive reliable information about a massive launch of air and space attack assets and them crossing our state border,” Putin added, citing “strategic and tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other flying vehicles”.

The current version of the document states Russia would use its nuclear arsenal if its receives “reliable information is received about the launch of ballistic missiles targeting the territory of Russia or its allies”.

Ukraine has repeatedly struck Russian territory with missiles and drones in response to Moscow’s attacks.

“Putin likely intends for the hyper-specificity of his nuclear threats to breathe new life into the Kremlin’s tired nuclear sabre-rattling information operation and generate a new wave of panic among Western policymakers during a particularly critical moment in Western policy discussions about Ukraine’s ability to use Western-provided weapons,” the Institute for the Study of War, a prominent US-based think tank, said in a commentary.

“Regardless of whether you think this is a bluff or not, it’s never good when a major nuclear power loosens the conditions for nuclear use in its declaratory policy,” said Samuel Charap, senior political scientist at RAND, in a post on X.

Putin also said the revised doctrine would bring neighbouring Belarus under Russia’s nuclear umbrella.

President Alexander Lukashenko, a Putin ally who has ruled Belarus for more than 30 years, has let Moscow use his country’s territory to send troops into Ukraine. He has also allowed the Kremlin to deploy some of Russia’s tactical nuclear weapons there.

Russia is the world’s largest nuclear power. Together, Russia and the US control 88 percent of the world’s nuclear warheads.

Related Topics:Belarus Conflict europe Featured Military news nuclear weapons Russia russia ukraine war Ukraine Vladimir Putin

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World

Pentagon says the number of US troops in Syria is much higher than previously reported

Published

34 minutes ago

December 20, 2024

Press Room

Pentagon says the number of US troops in Syria is much higher than previously reported

The Pentagon says there are 2,000 U.S. troops deployed in Syria, more than double what officials with the Department of Defense have been telling reporters for months.

“We have been briefing you regularly that there are approximately 900 U.S. troops deployed to Syria,” Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Ryder told reporters during a press briefing on Thursday. “In light of the situation in Syria, and in significant interest, we’ve recently learned that those numbers were higher.”

Ryder asked to look into the numbers and said he learned on Thursday that there are about 2,000 U.S. troops in Syria.

“It was explained to me these additional forces are considered temporary rotational forces that deploy to meet shifting mission requirements, whereas the core 900 deployers are on longer term deployments,” he continued. “As you know, for many of our deployments, numbers will fluctuate from time to time, but given that this number is significantly higher than what we’ve been briefing, I wanted to let you know, as soon as I found out this information.”

TOP US ALLY, SDF COMMANDER IN SYRIA WARNS OF ISIS RETURN IF TURKISH AIRSTRIKES DON’T STOP

Pentagon press secretary Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters there are over two times the number of U.S. troops in Syria than previously reported. (Pentagon Live Feed)

The lead spokesman said there are diplomatic and operational security considerations with deployments and the numbers of troops associated with those deployments, as was the case with Syria.

Ryder noted that the troops were in Syria before the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad – who fled to Russia earlier this month and ended a nearly 14-year struggle to maintain power in his country – and help augment the defeat of ISIS mission.

After learning of the fluctuation in number of troops, Fox News’ Pentagon correspondent Jennifer Griffin pressed Ryder about the correction to the number of troops and timing.

US GROUP LOOKS FOR KIDNAPPED AMERICANS IN SYRIA AFTER FALL OF ASSAD REGIME

People celebrate in Damascus after fall of Assad regime

People wave guns in the air as they gather to celebrate the fall of the Syrian regime in Umayyad Square on Dec. 8 in Damascus, Syria. (Ali Haj Suleiman/Getty Images)

“This is more than double the number of troops that we’ve been told for quite some time. So, are we talking about this has been going on for months? For Years?” Griffin asked. “Is this something that just happened this summer? We need a time frame.”

“Yeah, I think it would probably be fair to say at a minimum, months,” Ryder said. “I’ll go back and look. But it’s…yeah, it’s been going on for a while.”

The news of additional troops in Syria comes as interest in the region is exceptionally high, especially after the fall of Assad.

ISRAEL’S UN AMBASSADOR INSISTS NATION IS ‘NOT GETTING INVOLVED’ IN SYRIAN REGIME CHANGE

DAMASCUS, SYRIA – MAY 03: Syria’s then-President Bashar al-Assad, seen during the Signing of the comprehensive program of strategic and long-term cooperation between Iran and Syria, On May 03, 2023, In Damascus, Syria. (Borna News/Matin Ghasemi/Aksonline ATPImages/Getty Images)

Attacks by the Turkish military on Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have increased since the Syrian president fled to Russia on Dec. 8. In an interview with Fox News this month, Gen. Mazloum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, warned that if his Kurdish fighters have to flee, ISIS would return.

He also said half of his fighters guarding the ISIS camps had to withdraw.

“All of the prisons still are under our control. However, the prisons and camps are in a critical situation because who is guarding them? They are leaving and having to protect their families,” Gen. Mazloum said. “I can give you one example like the Raqqa ISIS prison, which contains about 1,000 ISIS ex-fighters. The number of guards there have diminished by half which is putting them in a fragile position.”

Fox News previously reported that the U.S. had 900 troops in Eastern Syria, but now that number is about 2,000, and they would likely have to withdraw if the allied Kurdish fighters retreat under attack from Turkey’s military, which views the Kurds as a terrorist threat.

Greg Wehner is a breaking news reporter for Fox News Digital.

Story tips and ideas can be sent to Greg.Wehner@Fox.com and on Twitter @GregWehner.

World

EU countries inspect Chinese vessel after data cables damaged

Published

1 hour ago

December 19, 2024

Press Room

EU countries inspect Chinese vessel after data cables damaged

The Yi Peng 3 has been anchored in the Kattegat Sea for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed access to the vessel.

Representatives from Germany, Finland and Denmark have boarded a Chinese cargo ship believed to be connected to the rupture of two data cables on the Baltic Sea bed in November.

Swedish police and Chinese officials were also part of the inspection of the Yi Peng 3 vessel which is anchored in international waters between Sweden and Denmark.

Denmark’s Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said the visit was supposed to take place on Wednesday but was called off due to bad weather.

“It is our expectation that when the inspection is completed by this group of people from the four countries, the ship will be able to sail to its destination,” he told reporters.

The Yi Peng 3 has been anchored in the Kattegat Sea for a month while diplomats in Stockholm and Beijing discussed access to the vessel.

Sweden had formally asked China in November to cooperate with the investigation into how the undersea data cables were damaged after the China-flagged vessel was seen in the area.

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson said at the time that it was, “extremely important to find out exactly what happened.”

The two cables, one running from Finland to Germany and the other from Lithuania to Sweden, were both damaged in Swedish waters.

The Wall Street Journal reported in November that investigators suspected the Yi Peng 3 had deliberately severed the fibre-optic cables by dragging its anchor along the seabed.

In a post on X, NORSAR, the Norwegian foundation that tracks earthquakes and nuclear explosions, said it hadn’t detected any “seismic signals” in the area, indicating there hadn’t been any explosions.

The Yi Peng 3 has been anchored between Sweden and Denmark where it was being monitored by several vessels, including those belonging to the Danish navy.

“These types of incidents, they annoy all of us, obviously, and those who are interested in safe navigation and safety as such on the Baltic Sea and in countries in the Baltic Sea region,” said Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk at a press conference in November.

Tusk was referring to separate incidents which saw the Nord Stream pipelines and the Balticconnector damaged.

The Nord Stream 1 and 2 pipelines, which carried gas from Russia to Germany, were both damaged in explosions in 2022.

And the Balticconnector gas pipeline was seriously damaged the next year.

Finnish, Swedish and German authorities all launched investigations into the rupture of the two fibre-optic cables.

Germany’s defence minister said that the damage appeared to have been caused by sabotage.

Chinese authorities in Beijing said they had no information about the ship but denied any responsibility and said Beijing was ready to “maintain communication” with relevant parties.