Kremlin spokesman defends Putin's changes to Russian nuclear doctrine

Kremlin spokesman Dmitri Peskov said on Sunday that Moscow's revised nuclear weapons doctrine is needed because NATO infrastructure is approaching Russia's borders ever more closely.

Peskov told Russian state television that Western powers are seeking victory over Russia through their arms deliveries to Ukraine.

On Wednesday, President Vladimir Putin announced an updated policy on the use of nuclear weapons, citing tensions with Western powers over their support for Ukraine.

Responding to a question about who would make the decision to deploy nuclear weapons in the light of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory, Peskov said that this was for military experts.

"They keep a close watch on which weapons and how they will be deployed," he said.

Russian commentators have called in the past for nuclear weapons to be used to secure victory in the current war with Ukraine.

Moscow accuses Ukraine's Western allies of involvement in the war through their arms deliveries.

Ukraine has termed the revised Russian policy "nuclear blackmail" and appealed to the West not to be intimidated and is calling for its Western backers to revise their policies restricting the use of their weapons on Russian territory.

Speaking to Russia's security council on Wednesday, Putin said the updated document proposed that "aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state, but with the involvement or support of a nuclear state, should be considered as a joint attack on the Russian Federation."

In the event of a massive conventional air attack threatening Russia's existence, Russia could respond with nuclear forces, he said.