(Image source from: PTI)

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree aimed at expanding Moscow's use of nuclear weapons, sending a clear signal to the West and Ukraine. The move comes on the 1,000th day of Russia's attack on Ukraine and after the United States authorized Kiev to use long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia. A new theory suggests that Russia is considering using nuclear weapons against non-nuclear countries. "Aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state is a joint attack," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday, apparently referring to Ukraine and its Western backers. "Our policy must be adjusted to the current situation," added Peskov, who called the update a "very important" document that "must be read" abroad. Russia has "always viewed nuclear weapons as a deterrent," he said, adding that they would only use them if Russia was "forced" to respond.

During his almost three-year election campaign, Putin formulated a nuclear threat against Ukraine. The new doctrine allows Moscow to launch a nuclear response in the event of a "massive" airstrike, even if it uses conventional weapons. When the Kremlin first unveiled the proposed changes in September, Peskov called them a "warning" to anyone who thinks "we should attack our country in different ways, not necessarily with nuclear weapons." According to the new doctrine, Moscow's nuclear shield extends to its closest ally, Belarus. On the 1,000th day of the conflict, Peskov said the "collective West" had launched a "war" against Russia and promised Moscow would carry out a "special operation" to the end.