White House on Russia's decision to lower the threshold for nuclear strike: We are not surprised, we will not adapt to it

(Patria) - The US is not surprised that Russia has lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike and does not plan to adjust its nuclear position in response, the White House announced today.

"As we said earlier this month, we are not surprised by Russia's announcement that it will update its nuclear doctrine. Russia has been indicating its intention to update its doctrine for several weeks," the White House National Security Council said in a statement.

Russian President Vladimir Putin today lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a wider range of conventional attacks, and Moscow said that Ukraine attacked deep inside Russia with US-made ATACMS missiles.

"Given that there are no changes in Russia's nuclear stance, we see no reason to adjust our nuclear position or doctrine in response to Russia's statements today," the statement said.

The White House reminds of Russia's use of North Korean military forces in Ukraine, which the US considers a significant escalation.

Putin today approved an updated version of the nuclear doctrine, saying that Russia could consider the use of nuclear weapons if it were subjected to an attack with conventional missiles supported by a nuclear power.

The decision to change Russia's official nuclear doctrine is the Kremlin's response to the announced decision of the administration of US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to fire long-range US missiles deep into Russia.

The updated doctrine, which outlines the threats that would compel Russian leadership to consider a nuclear strike, states that an attack with conventional missiles, drones, or other aircraft could be considered to meet these criteria.

It was also stated that Moscow will consider any aggression by a member state of a coalition against Russia as a joint aggression by the entire coalition.

Ukraine today, for the first time since the beginning of the war, used US ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory, official Moscow announced.

Russia announced that its military forces shot down five out of six missiles fired at a military facility in the Bryansk region, which was hit by missile debris, but there were no casualties or material damage.

Ukraine announced that it hit a weapons depot about 110 kilometers inside Russia and caused secondary explosions. It was not specified what kind of weapons were used.