An article published in the Defense Ministry’s Krasnaya Zvezda newspaper yesterday laid out the conditions for Russian first use of nuclear weapons, reported lenta.ru (via Google translate—ed.).
“The most important postulate of ensuring the military security of our state is the guaranteed deterrence of any potential enemy, including the coalition, from unleashing military aggression against the Russian Federation and (or) its allies,” write Chief of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Maj. Gen. Andrey Sterlin and Col. Alexander Khryapin, leading researcher at the Center for Military Strategic Research of the Military Academy of the General Staff. “It is based on the combat capabilities of the domestic Armed Forces (primarily nuclear forces) to inflict ‘unacceptable damage’ on the aggressor in any, even the most critical conditions of the situation ('retaliation strike').”
The article then lists the conditions which would force a decision on whether or not to use nuclear arms, the first of which is the receipt of “reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles attacking the territory of Russia and (or) its allies.” Since the warning systems cannot distinguish between a nuclear and non-nuclear warhead, “any attacking missile will be perceived as a missile potentially carrying a nuclear charge.” The second condition is the enemy’s attempt to destroy Russia “as a state” with the use of not only nuclear weapons, but any weapons of mass destruction by the aggressor.
