Putin signs decree allowing broader use of nuclear arms
· RTE.ieRussian President Vladimir Putin has signed a decree broadening the scope of when Russia can use nuclear weapons in a clear message to the West and Ukraine.
The move comes on the 1,000th day of Russia's offensive on Ukraine and after the US gave Ukraine permission to use long-range missiles to strike military targets inside Russia.
The new doctrine outlines that Russia will consider using nuclear weapons against a non-nuclear state if they are supported by nuclear powers.
"Aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state is considered as a joint attack," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters, a clear reference to Ukraine and its Western backers.
"It was necessary to bring our principles in line with the current situation," Mr Peskov added, calling the update a "very important" document that should be "studied" abroad.
Russia "has always viewed nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence," he said, adding that they would only be deployed if Russia felt "forced" to respond.
Mr Putin has issued a string of nuclear threats throughout the almost three-year campaign against Ukraine, triggering concern in the West over rhetoric it has slammed as reckless.
The new doctrine also allows Russia to unleash a nuclear response in the event of a "massive" air attack, even if it only uses conventional weapons.
When the Kremlin first unveiled the proposed changes in September, Mr Peskov called it a "warning" against anybody who was thinking about participating "in an attack on our country by various means, not necessarily nuclear".
Russia's nuclear umbrella will also be extended to its close ally Belarus under the new doctrine.
Speaking on the 1,000th day of the conflict, Mr Peskov said the "collective West" had unleashed a "war" against Russia, pledging that Russia would see what it calls its "special military operation" through to the end.
Zelensky says 2025 will decide who wins Ukraine war
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that 2025 will be decisive in determining who wins the war, in an address to parliament.
Mr Zelensky, presented a "resilience plan" to Ukraine with the war at a decisive moment.
"In the decisive moments - and they are coming next year - we must not allow anyone in the world to doubt the resilience of our entire state.
"And at this stage, it is being decided who will prevail," Mr Zelensky told Ukrainian MPs.
"This battle is not only about Pokrovsk, Kupiansk or any other city, town or village, not only about this or that region of ours.
"This battle is about the whole of Ukraine, the battle is about the whole of Europe, about order or chaos for the whole world," he said.
On the diplomatic front, talk of a possible peace deal to end the fighting is growing following Donald Trump's election in the US.
Amid uncertainty over American aid, Mr Zelensky said Ukraine should not let anybody else decide the country's future.
"This is a war that decides the fate of the entire nation. And no one should or can decide it for us," he said.
Statements from Mr Trump saying he aimed for a quick deal to end the war have raised fears that the US may force Ukraine into accepting territorial concessions.
Mr Zelensky said Ukraine may have to wait for the end of Mr Putin's rule in Russia to reclaim its full internationally recognised territory.
"Perhaps Ukraine will have to outlast someone in Moscow to achieve all its goals... Perhaps to restore the full integrity of the state," he said.