Has Putin changed his mind? ISW notes the significant shift in his rhetoric regarding the strikes on Russian territory

Russian dictator Vladimir Putin has hinted that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with Western-supplied weapons do not cross the alleged Russian "red line" that would lead to nuclear escalation. Russia's nuclear doctrine allegedly provides for the use of such weapons only in "exceptional cases" of a threat to Russia's sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Analysts at the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) drew attention to the change in the Kremlin leader's rhetoric. Currently, the dictator believes that there is no need to use nuclear weapons yet.

The analysts noted that Putin's statement of June 7 is a "significant rhetorical reversal given that Putin and other Kremlin officials have previously threatened Russian nuclear weapon use if Western states allow Ukraine to strike the Russian territory with Western-provided weapons."

"Western and Ukrainian policies and actions have crossed Russia's supposed 'red lines' several times throughout the war without drawing a significant Russian reaction, indicating that many of Russia's 'red lines' are most likely information operations designed to push the West to self-deter," ISW believes.

As reported, Putin has recently threatened retaliatory strikes against the collective West "by all available means." DIU representative Andriy Yusov is convinced that whatever the intentions of the aggressor country, the dictator's sincere confessions about possible terrorist actions against the world will be additional evidence in the trial of his war crimes.

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