The deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev, has warned of a nuclear response in case Ukraine hits Russia’s missile launch sites.
On Thursday the former Russian president warned that any Ukrainian attacks on missile launch sites inside Russia with arms supplied by the United States and its allies would risk a nuclear response from Moscow.
Medvedev said that some Ukrainian military commanders were considering hitting missile launch sites inside Russia with Western-supplied long-range missiles.
“What does this mean? It means only one thing – they risk running into the action of paragraph 19 of the fundamentals of Russia’s state policy in the field of nuclear deterrence. This should be remembered,” Medvedev said.
The deputy chairman did not disclose more details of the alleged Ukrainian plan.
As per paragraph 19 of Russia’s 2020 nuclear doctrine, the conditions under which a Russian President would consider using a nuclear weapon are: as a response to an attack using nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, or to the use of conventional weapons against Russia ” if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation are under threat.”
Medvedev made specific mention of point “g” of paragraph nineteen which deals with the nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack.
Russia has accused the US of undermining the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons through its support of Ukrainian forces in its conflict with Russia.
On December 28, the United States announced its latest arms package worth up to $250 million for Ukraine.
Kiev has accepted that Ukraine is a great “testing ground” for the military industry of the West, which is constantly pouring advanced arms and military equipment into the country despite repeated warnings by Russia that such a flow of arms will only prolong the war.
