Russia Downplays Nuclear War; U.S. Insists, Citing Dual Missiles Movement Over Crimea (Source au.ibtimes.com) Russia had downplayed fears and speculations about a looming nuclear attack against the United States and its ally countries by dropping a provision of an anticipatory nuclear strike against potential enemy from its military doctrine. The new draft of the country’s military doctrine would not include a stipulation for preemptive nuclear war, unnamed sources from Russia‘s Defence Ministry revealed. Preemptive war pertains to an attack initiated on the basis of unquestionable evidence that an attack from potential enemy is imminent, according to its dictionary meaning. Article 198 of Russia’s revised military doctrine would not have a reservation for preemptive nuclear strikes on potential enemy, sources said. The document “is very precise on the conditions under which Russia can use the nuclear weapons,” an unnamed Defence official said, asreported by RT.  The nuclear attack from Russia would only become possible “if the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation are under threat,” the official made clear. The same stipulation was also stated in Russian’s military doctrine approved in 2010. The Russian Federation would only use nuclear weapons as retaliation “to strikes with nuclear weapons or other weapons of mass destruction on its territory or on the territory of its allies,” the approved 2010 doctrine stated. The final decision whether to retaliate to a nuclear strike from an enemy belongs to the president.