RUSSIA will perceive any ballistic missile launched at its territory as warranting nuclear retaliation, the military warned in an article published today.

The harsh warning in the official military newspaper Red Star is directed at the United States government, which pulled out of the cold-war era Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty last August.

The article follows the publication in June of Russia’s nuclear deterrent policy, which envisages the use of atomic weapons in response to what could be a conventional strike targeting the nation’s critical government and military infrastructure.

In the article, senior officers of the Russian military’s general staff noted that there will be no way to determine if an incoming ballistic missile is fitted with a nuclear or a conventional warhead, and so the military will act on the basis it is a nuclear strike.

“Any attacking missile will be perceived as carrying a nuclear warhead,” the article said.

“The information about the missile launch will be automatically relayed to the Russian military-political leadership, which will determine the scope of retaliatory action by nuclear forces depending on the evolving situation.”