The document outlines the circumstances under which Russia deems it possible to use nuclear weapons against a "potential adversary" – defined as "individual states and military coalitions (blocks, alliances) that consider the Russian Federation as a potential adversary and possess nuclear and/or other types of weapons of mass destruction or significant conventional military capabilities."
Moreover, aggression from any non-nuclear state, if it involves or is supported by a nuclear power, will be regarded as a joint attack on the Russian Federation, as stated in the document.
According to the doctrine, a nuclear response is permissible upon receiving credible information about the launch of ballistic missiles targeting the Russian Federation or its allies, including strategic or tactical aircraft, cruise missiles, drones, hypersonic and other aerial vehicles breaching its state borders. It is also possible in the event of a "threat" to the Russian Federation from conventional weapons or if Belarus, as a member of the union state, is attacked, as mentioned in the document.
The text also indicates that Moscow considers it as "a means of deterrence, the use of which is an extreme and necessary measure" and "makes every effort to reduce the nuclear threat."
The decree enforces the doctrine starting from November 19.