Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a revised nuclear doctrine declaring that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country.

The signing of the doctrine, which says that any massive aerial attack on Russia could trigger a nuclear response, reflects Putin’s readiness to threaten use of the country’s nuclear arsenal to force the West to back down as Moscow presses a slow-moving offensive in Ukraine.

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[–] intelisense@lemm.ee 3 points 1 month ago (1 children)

The Soviet Union declared war on Japan six days earlier. The bombs were meant to send a strong message to the Soviets and prevent them from taking Japan.

[–] anachronist@midwest.social 7 points 1 month ago

Really not true. Minutes were taken during meetings where these decisions were made and it's possible to see what people actually were thinking and saying rather than speculating.

That being said, the firebombing of Dresden was absolutely as a warning to the Soviets. The RAF put out a memo saying that they "want to show the Soviets what Bomber Command can do."