Will Russia Nuke ISIS in Syria?

Dave Majumdar

Nuclear War, Eurasia

While the Soviet Union maintained to an explicit “no first use” policy regarding nuclear weapons, modern Russian reserves the right to use nuclear weapons first during a conflict.

Russian president Vladimir Putin seemed to raise the possibility this week that Moscow might consider using nuclear weapons to combat Daesh terrorists in Syria. But Putin quickly added that he hopes such weapons will never be used and are not needed for use against terrorists.

“We must analyze everything happening on the battlefield, how the weapons operate. The Kalibrs and KH-101 have proved to be modern and highly effective, and now we know it for sure—precision weapons that can be equipped with both conventional and special warheads, which are nuclear,” Putin said during a meeting with Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, according to Russian television. “Naturally, this is not necessary when fighting terrorists and, I hope, will never be needed.”

Russian military forces have been demonstrating their ability to hit targets at long ranges using cruise missile strikes launched from Tupolev Tu-160 Blackjack supersonic bombers, diesel-electric submarines and even tiny corvette-class ships in the Caspian Sea. Moscow has, in effect, been testing the Russian military’s ability to fight a thoroughly modern war during its campaign in Syria. Some of the latest Russian hardware—including the Su-30SM Flanker, Su-34 Fullback, S-400 missile defense system and the Tu-160 bomber—have made their debut during Moscow’s intervention in the Middle East.

However, Russian forces are still heavily reliant on their formidable nuclear arsenal, which was inherited from the Soviet Union. While Russia has made significant strides in improving its conventional forces since 2008, reforms are incomplete. Moscow still has a long way to go before it can field a completely modern force. As such, Russia has to rely on its nuclear forces to make up for its relative conventional weakness.