Putin Signals Shift from Special Military Operation to Full War Doctrine

What was said

"Recently he has met up with his senior commanders and he has now publicly said that there is a need to liberate Donbas and Novorossiya. Now Novorossiya is perhaps that reason we are looking at from Kiev to Odessa and we are looking at really the whole of Black Sea. The difference between the SMO special military operations and war as far as Russia is concerned is that war in Russia has a first use policy of nuclear weapons. So as long as it is special military operations, it is a combination of diplomacy and military force when you come to war that means now you are talking also about the tactical nuclear weapons because you have first use policy."

Pravin Sawhney reveals Putin has abandoned the 'Anchorage spirit' of diplomacy with Trump and signaled a strategic shift toward full war doctrine in Ukraine. He claims Putin recently told commanders Russia must liberate Donbas and Novorossiya (extending to the Black Sea), and distinguishes this from the previous Special Military Operation framework which combined diplomacy with force. Under Russia's war doctrine, first-use of tactical nuclear weapons becomes policy, unlike the SMO's restraint.