Fact check: Is Putin threatening to use nuclear weapons?

According to media reports, US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles (short for Army Tactical Missile System) against targets within Russian territory. These missiles have a range of about 300 kilometers (185 miles), and Ukraine's army will be able to use them against Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region of western Russia, which borders Ukraine.

Several videos claiming to feature statements by Russian President Vladimir Putin directly responding to Biden's announcement have been circulating on social media in recent days.

Claim: "Breaking: Vladimir Putin just announced to use nuclear weapons if a mass missile or UAV is launched toward Russia, or when these weapons cross into Russian territory," one X user claimed in a post that has already been viewed nearly 7 million times and has been shared more than 11,000 times. The post also features a report by the Russian state broadcaster RT, which has an appearance by Putin.

DW fact check: Misleading.

A reverse image search revealed that the video and Putin's statement were not made in response to Biden's recent decision. The RT report is almost two months old and includes a clip of the  Russian Federation Security Council standing conference on nuclear deterrence that took place in September 2024.

At this meeting, the decision was made to change the existing Russian doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons. Putin said the list of military threats against which nuclear weapons can be used as a deterrent would be expanded: "I would like to draw your attention specifically to the following. The updated version of the document is supposed to regard an aggression against Russia from any non-nuclear-weapon state but involving or supported by any nuclear state as their joint attack against the Russian Federation."

The possibility of a preemptive strike was also discussed at the meeting. The old doctrine only permitted the use of nuclear weapons as a counterstrike. 

On November 19, Putin signed a decree that broadens the scope of when Russia can use nuclear weapons, sending out a clear message to the West and Ukraine. The new doctrine would effectively enable Moscow to launch a nuclear response in the event of a "massive launch of air and space weapons," even if these are conventional arms.

This video is not the only one currently being circulated on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, with claims that it is Putin's alleged reaction to the recent US decision. Another viral video post on X claims Putin said Russia was "now officially at war with NATO." 

However, the video also dates from September 12, 2024, when Putin commented in St. Petersburg on the possible decision by Western states to allow Ukraine to use longer-range weapons. He warned that Western approval of such a step would mean "the direct involvement of NATO countries, the USA and European countries in the war in Ukraine".

There has not been any official reaction from Putin since Biden's decision to give the green light to Ukraine on using missiles. So far, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova merely referred to earlier statements by the Kremlin leader, including the one from September 12.

On November 18, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said in Moscow that allowing Ukraine to use missiles in Russia would trigger a "significant new round of escalation." He also referred to Putin's September statement: "Only NATO military personnel can assign flight missions to these missile systems. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. Therefore, it is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not. It is about deciding whether NATO countries become directly involved in the military conflict or not."

Peskov said the new version of the nuclear doctrine was a "very important" document that should be "studied" abroad. "It was necessary to bring our principles in line with the current situation," he added.

This article was originally written in German.