Medvedev: Russia’s nuclear doctrine is “reality,” not a bluff

Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev stated that nuclear weapons “can be used in certain cases,” describing the country’s nuclear doctrine not as intimidation but as a reflection of reality.

The remarks were made in an interview with the newspaper Vedomosti, published on September 10.

“Everyone must understand: nuclear weapons can be used in certain cases. This is not intimidation. This is reality,” — RIA Novosti quotes Medvedev.

According to Medvedev, Russia’s nuclear doctrine gives the country the right to use such weapons “in the event of a threat to the state,” and the list of military threats that trigger nuclear deterrence measures has been expanded.

In November 2024, President Vladimir Putin signed an updated nuclear doctrine expanding the list of circumstances under which Moscow may resort to nuclear weapons. The updated document replaced the previous criterion — a threat to “the very existence of the state” — with a vaguer formulation about a “critical threat” to Russia’s sovereignty or territorial integrity. In addition, a provision was introduced into the doctrine classifying an attack by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power as a “joint attack” on Russia.

In the same part of the interview, Medvedev said that Russia wants to end the war in Ukraine “as soon as possible,” but exclusively on Moscow’s terms.

Medvedev, who served as president of Russia from 2008 to 2012, has become one of the Kremlin’s most vocal spokesmen on nuclear issues. In February 2026, he warned that the expiration of the New START treaty — the last bilateral nuclear arms agreement between the United States and Russia — should “alarm the whole world.” Russia and Belarus also conducted joint exercises in early 2026 simulating nuclear weapons use scenarios.

This week, Russian state television host Vladimir Solovyov threatened a “nuclear strike that will destroy” the United States — in response to remarks by U.S. Senator John Kennedy, who called on Washington to “strangle” Putin.