Moscow Reacts Sharply to Biden's Policy Reversal
Early indicators suggest that Moscow is unlikely to take President Joe Biden’s recent policy shift lightly. However, within Russian society, and elsewhere, there remains significant uncertainty about what such a response might look like in practical terms.
Rising Tensions
On Monday, the first official comments from the Kremlin came via spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, who warned that the potential use of long-range weapons would represent “a qualitatively new level of tension” and mark “a qualitatively new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in the conflict.”
Peskov referred back to earlier remarks from Russian President Vladimir Putin made in September, though somewhat inaccurately, describing them as “very clear and unambiguous.”
Similarly, in a statement to Russian newspaper RBC, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova echoed Peskov’s stance, deferring to Putin’s earlier positions, stating simply that “the president has already spoken on the matter.”
War Drums and Nuclear Saber-Rattling
As is customary when the Kremlin pauses to deliberate on its next move, Russian propagandists and lower-level officials quickly filled the information void with incendiary rhetoric.
“The response could be anything. Anything,” declared Dmitry Kiselyov, the host of Russia’s prominent Vesty Nedely news program on state television, during his Sunday broadcast. “There’s a reason why we amended our nuclear doctrine,” he warned, referencing recent changes that justify Russia potentially using nuclear weapons in response to conventional attacks.
This saber-rattling taps into Russia’s broader strategy of exerting psychological pressure, as officials continue to evaluate their next formal steps.
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