On Monday, December 12, Russia issued a clarification on the possibility of changing its nuclear doctrine due to the conflict in Ukraine and tensions with the West. Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky made an urgent request to the G-7. The latter pledged more military support to Kiev at the virtual summit.
Russian presidential (Kremlin) spokesman Dmitry Peskov said his country has no plans to quickly change its nuclear doctrine.
The Russian Interfax news agency quoted Peskov as saying that at the expert level, they are conducting a continuous process of thinking and analyzing the world situation.
The Kremlin spokesman’s comments came days after a statement by Russian President Vladimir Putin. In the statement, Putin said his country might formally consider adding to its military doctrine the possibility of launching a pre-emptive first nuclear strike to disarm an opponent.
Putin also warned of an escalating danger of nuclear war, despite his insistence that Russia’s nuclear strategy is based on the principles of reaction and defense.
Against the backdrop of the ongoing conflict in Ukraine since Feb. 24, Putin and other Russian officials have suggested that the use of nuclear weapons would be irresponsible, Washington said, warning of possible consequences of any such action.
According to the 2020 Russian Nuclear Doctrine, an enemy is only likely to use nuclear weapons if it uses nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction against Russia or its allies first.
Also, according to this doctrine, if Russia’s existence is threatened by conventional weapons, it is also possible to use nuclear weapons.
Commitments and requirements
On the other hand, on Monday, 12th, the leaders of the Group of Seven (United States, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, Canada and Japan) promised in a video conference attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that they would equip Ukraine with air defense systems and ability.
The leaders agreed on the main elements of a platform to coordinate financial assistance to Ukraine.
After the meeting, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said the goal of the platform was to quickly provide support to Ukraine with the participation of Kiev, international financial institutions and other partners.
In a video link during the meeting, Zelensky asked the leaders of the Group of Seven countries to provide Ukraine with an additional 2 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the winter of 2022. It follows a series of Russian attacks that knocked out many energy installations in Ukraine, cutting off power and heating for millions of Ukrainians.
The Ukrainian president also called on major industrial nations to provide Ukraine with more weapons, including modern tanks, rocket launchers and more long-range missiles.
Zelenskiy proposed a special summit called a “Global Peace Package Summit” to “determine how and when to implement elements of Ukraine’s peace package for Ukraine’s security and territorial integrity.” He also called on Moscow to take concrete steps to achieve a diplomatic solution to the conflict.
The Ukrainian president also demanded that Russia withdraw its troops from Ukraine by Christmas at the end of December.
European support
In Brussels on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borelli announced that EU foreign ministers had agreed to allocate more than 2 billion euros to support Ukraine militarily.
At the end of a meeting of EU foreign ministers, Borrell said differences had prevented an agreement on a ninth set of sanctions against Russia.
Still, European ministers decided to add about 200 Russian individuals and entities to the EU’s sanctions list.