Russian official Sergei Ryabkov, an ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, recently warned that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) is underestimating Russia’s nuclear threats.
As Russia invades Ukraine, prominent Russian officials, including Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, and Valentina Matviyenko, a senator from St. Petersburg and speaker of the Federation Council, have threatened to use nuclear weapons if Moscow is provoked by another country.
Ryabkov, Russia’s deputy foreign minister, told Channel One, a Russian state-controlled television channel, that the war between Russia and Ukraine has shown that Moscow’s nuclear doctrine is “insufficient,” adding that NATO member states “ignore our potential in this area,” TASS, a Russian state news agency, reported Friday.
“The experience gained during the special military operation has also shown that the overly general wording that is enshrined in our fundamental nuclear doctrinal documents is insufficient,” Ryabkov said.
“The fact that the West, and primarily the NATO countries, ignore our potential in this area and that this group feels that things will not end in the worst-case scenario, even if they flout common sense, makes it necessary to say more clearly, more distinctly and more precisely what can happen if they persist on this path,” he added.
Newsweek contacted the Russian government and NATO via an online form for comment.
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Meanwhile, Putin said at a meeting with editors of international news agencies in St. Petersburg in early June: “For some reason, the West believes that Russia will never use it,” referring to Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
He added: “We have a nuclear doctrine, look at what it says. If someone’s actions threaten our sovereignty and territorial integrity, we consider it possible to use all means at our disposal. This should not be taken lightly, superficially,” Reuters reported.
If Putin were to strike a NATO country, the United States would be required to intervene directly because of Article 5 of the treaty, which states that if a NATO country is attacked, all member states must come to its aid.
Yet last December, Putin told Russian state television that he had no intention of attacking NATO countries. “Russia has no reason, no interest – neither geopolitical, nor economic, nor political, nor military – to fight with NATO countries,” Putin said.
Meanwhile, Russia held nuclear drills in late May. The Russian Defense Ministry said when announcing the drills earlier this month that they were linked to “provocative statements and threats by some Western officials against the Russian Federation.”
Uncommon knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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