Ukraine attacks Russia with US-made missiles, Putin approves new nuclear weapons doctrine
Maya DavisAkhda, BBC News
A New Era Of Warfare II US Weapons In Ukraine's Arsenal
Pros
1. Enhances Ukraine's military capabilities, enabling strikes on key Russian assets.
2. Demonstrates strong Western support, bolstering Ukraine’s morale and global alliances.
3. Potentially disrupts Russian logistics and operations.
Cons
1. Risks escalation, provoking a stronger Russian retaliation.
2. Could strain U.S.-Russia relations and destabilize global diplomacy.
3. Raises concerns about spreading conflict to other regions.
Putin's New Nuclear Weapons Doctrine
Pros
1. Strengthens Russia's deterrence posture against perceived threats.
2. Asserts control over its strategic redlines, signaling resolve to adversaries.
Cons
1. Reduces the threshold for nuclear use, increasing risks of miscalculation.
2. Threatens global security and raises fears of wider nuclear proliferation.
A day after the US authorised Ukraine to launch long-range US-made missiles at Russia, Ukraine has fired them at a target inside Russian territory for the first time.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has approved changes to Russia's nuclear weapons policy, setting new rules and conditions under which the country will consider using its nuclear weapons.
US officials have confirmed to the BBC's US partner CBS News that Ukraine has used the Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) against Russia.
Earlier, the Russian Defence Ministry said the strike on Tuesday morning targeted the Bryansk region of Russia, which borders Ukraine in the north.
The Russian Defence Ministry said five missiles were shot down and one was damaged, while fragments of the missiles set fire to a Russian military installation in the area.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the missile strike by Ukraine was carried out at 03:25 local time. The statement added that the fire caused by debris from one of the missiles was quickly extinguished and there were no casualties.
Earlier, the Ukrainian military confirmed that it had hit an ammunition depot in the Russian region of Bryansk, but did not specify whether it used an army tactical missile system.
The Ukrainian military said that 12 explosions occurred in the attack on an arms depot 100 kilometers from the border near the Russian region of Karachi.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict. He said that “repeated use of American missiles in the Bryansk region last night is certainly an indication that they (the United States) want to increase tensions.”
He added that “as Putin has said many times, without the Americans, the use of these high-tech missiles is impossible.”
He said that Russia would “move forward with the understanding” that the missiles were being operated by “American military experts.”
“We will take this as a new face of the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, setting new rules and conditions under which the country would be able to consider using its weapons.
It should be noted that the amendment to the principle of the use of Russian nuclear weapons was proposed in September and was put into effect on Tuesday, the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine.
The significant changes on Russia's side come after Washington's decision on Monday to allow Ukraine to fire long-range US-made missiles into Russia.
Meanwhile, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict. He said that “repeated use of American missiles in the Bryansk region last night is certainly an indication that they (the United States) want to increase tensions.”
He added that “as Putin has said many times, without the Americans, the use of these high-tech missiles is impossible.”
He said that Russia would “move forward with the understanding” that the missiles were being operated by “American military experts.”
“We will take this as a new face of the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly,” he told a press conference on the sidelines of the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine, setting new rules and conditions under which the country would be able to consider using its weapons.
It should be noted that the amendment to Russia's nuclear weapons rules was proposed in September and was put into effect on Tuesday, the 1,000th day of the war with Ukraine.
The major changes to Russia's stance come after Washington's decision on Monday to allow Ukraine to fire long-range US-made missiles into Russia.
Now, according to the new doctrine, if a non-nuclear state is backed by a nuclear power to attack Russia, it will be considered a joint attack on Russia.
Now, under these changes, a major attack on Russia by conventional missiles, drones or aircraft could meet the criteria for a nuclear response from Russia, as could an attack on Belarus or any serious threat to Russia's sovereignty.
Accordingly, Moscow will consider aggression against Russia by a country that is a member of an alliance as aggression by the entire group.
According to the Russian state news agency TASS, the changes to the nuclear doctrine have increased the number of countries, alliances and military threats that fall within the scope of a possible nuclear response.
President Putin has previously threatened to use nuclear weapons, which Ukraine criticized as a “nuclear threat” and called it a Russian attempt to prevent its allies from providing more assistance.
But Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said, “We are a strong supporter of avoiding nuclear war at all costs.”
At a press conference during the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Sergei Lavrov said that the group, which includes Russia, signed a declaration that clearly states, “We want to move towards a world free of nuclear weapons.”
Regarding the change in nuclear doctrine, the Kremlin spokesman said that other nations should study these changes carefully.
According to the Russian news agency TASS, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “This is a very important text. Analyze it carefully.”
It should be remembered that Russia had warned of an “appropriate and concrete” response to US President Joe Biden’s move yesterday to allow Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles inside Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that such an attack on Russian territory would be “considered a direct war by the United States and its allies against Russia.”
Dmitry Peskov said the new nuclear doctrine had been published “on time” and that Putin had requested an update earlier this year to bring it into line with current conditions, according to the Associated Press.
Ukraine has already been using the missiles in Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory for more than a year.
The missiles can hit targets up to 300 kilometers away and are difficult to intercept.
Kiev is now capable of striking deep into Russia using the missiles, including around the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces hold more than 1,000 square kilometers of territory. Ukrainian and US officials are reportedly expecting retaliation in the region.
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#Nuclear_Weapons #Ukraine #Ukraine_Russia_Conflict #Vladimir_Putin
#Nuclear_Energy #Russia #America #War
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