Putin-Russia To Continue Developing Nuclear Arsenal

Reuters reporting comments from Ptesident Vladimir Putin stating that "We plan to further develop the nuclear triad as a guarantee of strategic deterrence and to preserve the balance of power in the world," The 'nuclear triad' refers to Russia's ability to launch nuclear missiles from land, sea and air. These comments come a short time after Putin, speaking on a state visit to Vietnam, claimed that Russia is considering amending its nuclear doctrine.

• As SCMP reports, "The existing doctrine states that Russia may use such weapons in response to a nuclear attack or in the event of a conventional attack that poses an existential threat to the state.Since the start of the war in Ukraine, some hawks among Russian military analysts have been advocating that Russia should lower its threshold for nuclear use.Putin said, however, that there was no need for Russia to carry out a pre-emptive nuclear strike."
• The rhetoric in Russia surrounding the use of nuclear weapons, primarily from hardliners either in gov't, in parliament, or in the media, has ebbed and flowed since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in Feb 2022. The more notable recent development is that it is now Putin directly talking about nuclear weapons (although he is often swift to then talk down the prospect of their use), potentially raising concerns in Kyiv and the West of the Kremlin's intentions.