The President of the Russian Federation signed the Executive Order N 355 “On the Fundamentals of Russia’s Nuclear Deterrence State Policy”

Official Internet Resources of the President of Russia | June 2, 2020

These Fundamentals are a strategic planning document in the field of defense and reflect official views on the essence of nuclear deterrence. As this document states, the policy of the Russian Federation in the field of nuclear deterrence is defensive in nature, aimed at maintaining the potential of nuclear forces at a level sufficient to ensure nuclear deterrence, and guarantees the protection of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the state, deterrence of a potential adversary from aggression against the Russian Federation and (or) its allies.

According to the Fundamentals, the Russian Federation views nuclear weapons exclusively as a means of deterrence, the use of which is an extreme and compelled measure, and is making all necessary efforts to reduce the nuclear threat and prevent the aggravation of interstate relations that could provoke military conflicts, including nuclear ones. The document includes a list of military dangers that can develop into military threats to the Russian Federation (threats of aggression), which would necessitate nuclear deterrence for their neutralization, and a list of conditions, which determine the possibility of the use of nuclear weapons by the Russian Federation

Source: Kremlin.ru (in Russian)