Secret paper revealed:

Putin uses nuclear weapons according to these criteria

(Bild: AP, AFP, Krone KREATIV,)

Secret papers revealed by the "Financial Times" are said to list the criteria according to which Russian President Vladimir Putin is considering the use of nuclear weapons. Shockingly, the threshold for such a horror scenario is apparently lower than experts had previously assumed.

After his State of the Union address, the Kremlin leader threatened the West and even spoke of the "extinction of civilization". Secret Russian military documents obtained by the newspaper now show that it doesn't take much for Putin to really press the dreaded red button. 

In 39 documents from the years 2008 to 2014, specific circumstances are listed that are sufficient for the Russian regime to use nuclear weapons. These include the landing of enemy units on Russian territory, a defeat of units intended to secure border areas or an enemy attack with conventional weapons.

Russian RS-24 missiles at the annual military parade on Red Square in Moscow

(Bild: AP)

Attack with conventional weapons justifies nuclear strike for Kremlin 
Furthermore, a nuclear strike would be justified for the Kremlin if losses suffered by the Russian armed forces would "irrevocably lead to their failure to stop a major enemy aggression". These losses were also specified in concrete terms: 20 percent of Russian strategic ballistic missile submarines, 30 percent of nuclear-powered attack submarines, three or more cruisers or three airfields would have to be destroyed. Furthermore, simultaneous hits on main and reserve command centers on the coast would be sufficient reason.

Nuclear weapons can also be used to "stop aggression"
Nuclear weapons could also be used to "deter states from engaging in aggression [...] or escalating military conflicts" or, to put it more generally in the papers, to "stop aggression". Even if it is necessary to prevent Russian armed forces from losing battles or territory, it is possible to use it.

Expert: "Operational threshold is quite low"
Although the documents are older, experts say they are significant. "They show that the operational threshold for the use of nuclear weapons is quite low if the desired result cannot be achieved by conventional means," Alexander Gabuev from the Berlin-based Carnegie Russia Eurasia Center told Bild.