UK PM on Russia's new nuclear doctrine: Irresponsible rhetoric

Commenting on the recent change in Russia's nuclear doctrine, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer has said that it will not deter him from supporting Ukraine.

As reported by Reuters, Starmer called Russia's nuclear rhetoric "irresponsible" at the G20 Summit in Brazil.

"There's irresponsible rhetoric coming from Russia, and that is not going to deter our support for Ukraine," he said.   

Starmer also noted that Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin is "the author of his own exile", pointing out that he has not attended the G20 summit for three years in a row.

"I say again [to Putin]: end the war, get out of Ukraine," Starmer added.

Putin signed an updated nuclear doctrine that expanded the conditions for the use of Russian nuclear weapons.

This was another attempt by Moscow to resort to nuclear blackmail, which it has repeatedly done since the start of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

Rob Bauer, Chair of the NATO Military Committee, said that if Western leaders were not constrained in their decisions by the risk of Russia's use of nuclear weapons, they would have gone as far as to send their troops to help Ukraine in the war.