Kovalchuk proposed changing the basis of nuclear deterrence policy

Russia should adjust the fundamentals of its state policy on nuclear deterrence in accordance with the current situation, said the President of the Kurchatov Institute Research Center Mikhail Kovalchuk, transmits “RIA News”.

According to him, a number of experts are in favor of adjusting the foundations of state policy, pointing to the increasingly aggressive actions of Western countries. “I think this is the right idea,” says Kovalchuk. The head of the Kurchatov Institute believes that the West must “precisely understand” Russia’s determination to defend its security.

In addition, it is necessary, if necessary, to resume testing of Russian nuclear weapons. So, after the USSR tested a thermonuclear bomb with a yield of more than 50 megatons, the Americans “instantly” began to negotiate, Kovalchuk said.

“It’s exactly the same situation now. It is enough to carry out tests on Novaya Zemlya… At least once. And everything will fall into place,” he believes.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in June 2020 approved by his decree “Fundamentals of the state policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence.” The document was the first to describe the conditions that “determine the possibility of using nuclear weapons”: the receipt of reliable information about the launch of ballistic missiles attacking Russia and its allies; the enemy’s use of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction; enemy impact on critical facilities, the failure of which will lead to disruption of the response actions of nuclear forces.

The principles of nuclear deterrence are continuity, adaptability to threats, rationality in the construction of nuclear deterrence forces, constant duty of their part and centralization of control.

At the end of 2022, Putin said that the level of modern weapons in the strategic nuclear forces had already exceeded 91%. He also called the nuclear triad “the main guarantee of the preservation of our sovereignty and territorial integrity.” In June 2023, the President said that Russia will to further develop the nuclear triad, since it is the key to the country’s military security and world stability.

In the NATO communiqué following the July summit in Vilnius notedthat the use of nuclear weapons by a military alliance remains unlikely. At the same time, any use of nuclear weapons against NATO will fundamentally change the nature of the conflict, the document emphasized.