Putin agrees to amend some provisions of the nuclear weapons use principles.

On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved some proposed amendments to the country's nuclear doctrine regarding the principles for the use of nuclear weapons. The new principles include an authorization for using nuclear weapons to respond to aggression from a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear state. The new doctrine will come into effect immediately.

It has also been established that any attack on Russia by a state belonging to a military alliance is considered an attack by the entire alliance. The new amendments enable Russia to utilize nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack on Russia or Belarus if such an attack is deemed a serious threat.

This follows warnings from some Russian officials yesterday that the recent U.S. decision to allow its long-range weapons to be used by the Ukrainian military to strike deeper into Russian territory could lead to military escalations between Russia and the United States, potentially resulting in a Third World War.

Last June, Putin indicated that Russia was prepared to change its nuclear principles, but the Russian government did not make a decision on implementing these changes until after the U.S. action yesterday.

Following the announcement of the amendments, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov issued a stern warning regarding a response to Ukraine and its allies, should Kyiv decide to use Western long-range missiles against either Russia or Belarus.