Putin Says Russia Is Considering Adding Nuclear First Strike To Military Strategy

The UN Secretary General António Guterres said this year that nuclear war is "back within the realm of possibility". Image | Russian MOD, enhanced by Donald Standeford.

By Donald Standeford, SJ Founder/Publisher
December 28, 2022 08:00 pm UTC
Modified: 2022-12-28 08:00 pm

MOSCOW - Russian President Vladimir Putin put out a statement saying that any country that dares attack Russia with nuclear weapons will be wiped from the face of the earth and said he was considering adding the possibility of a nuclear first strike to disarm an enemy to Russia's military doctrine.

Regarding the first strike idea, Putin said "We're thinking about this," according to a Report by Bloomberg.

He added, "If we are talking about a disarming strike, perhaps we should think about using the approaches of our American partners."

This, was after Putin had held a Televised Meeting with members of Russia's Human Rights Council saying that Russia wouldn't use nuclear missiles unless it was first attacked.

"We haven’t gone mad. We are fully aware of what nuclear weapons are. We have them, and they are more advanced and state-of-the-art than what any other nuclear power has," he said during that interview.

During a press conference in Kyrgyzstan on Friday Putin said, "Firstly, there is a preventive strike approach in the United States. Secondly, they are developing a system of a disarming strike. What is it? It means launching a strike with the use of modern hi-tech devices, which is supposed to target command points, deprive the opponent of these control systems, and so on".

"We just added a response to our strategy – a responsive strike, there are no secrets there. What does it mean? It means a strike in response. It is when our missile warning system records the missiles launched on the territory of the Russian Federation. It records the fact that they were launched, and then, the response will follow", he added.

Putin said that there is a possibility "to think about employing our American partners’ developments and ideas of establishing their security."

"If a potential enemy thinks that using the preventive strike theory is possible and we do not, then he makes us think about the threats created on the basis of these ideas in the defense sectors of other countries."

Speaking in a video Putin said, "From our side, hundreds of our missiles will be in the air. It is impossible to stop them. But these are still retaliatory missiles."

He continued, "What does this mean? It means that it will happen if the fall of enemy missile warheads on Russian territory is inevitable. They will still fall, though nothing will remain of the enemy."

"And this, of course, is a deterrent. A serious deterrent. Well, if the enemy considers it possible to use the theory of a preventive strike, but we do not, then it still makes us think about the threats that such ideas create for us for defense sectors of other countries. That is all," he concluded.

I believe Putin is saying "First Strike" because he has hypersonic missiles that would hit their targets before an attack would, which would both make it "First Strike" and "Retaliatory" at the same time.

The UN Secretary General António Guterres said this year that nuclear war is "back within the realm of possibility".