Ukraine launched American-made ATACMS missiles at Russia shortly before President Vladimir Putin lowered his country’s threshold for authorizing a nuclear strike, Moscow said Tuesday.
The Russian Defense Ministry said its forces shot down five out of six Army Tactical Missile System projectiles, with the attack coming after reports that President Joe Biden had approved Kyiv’s use of the weapon to strike targets inside Russia. News of the launches came after a Kremlin spokesperson confirmed Putin’s new nuclear doctrine meant “the use of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine against Russia can prompt a nuclear response,” according to ABC News.
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The attack on Tuesday—which marked 1,000 days since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022—would also represent the first time Kyiv used ATACMS inside Russia.
Ukraine claimed it struck a military weapons depot in the Bryansk region of Russia during the night, but did not specify what type of weapon it had used in the operation. A post on the Telegram account for the Ministry of Defense of Russia said “the enemy launched a strike on a facility in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles” at 3:25 a.m.
“According to confirmed data, the American-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used,” the post read. It added that five were shot down and one was damaged, and that falling fragments created a fire at the unspecified military facility which was “quickly extinguished.” No casualties or damage were reported.
The new nuclear doctrine signed by Putin on Tuesday establishes that Russia can potentially take a nuclear response to a conventional attack launched by a nation being supported by a nuclear power, according to the Associated Press.
When asked if a Ukrainian attack using long-range U.S. missiles could therefore lead to a nuclear retaliation, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov on Tuesday answered affirmatively. The changes to the doctrine, which were first announced in September, were ultimately published “in a timely manner” this week, Peskov said while commenting on whether or not the new doctrine was being issued to follow Biden’s decision on letting Ukraine use ATACMS to hit Russia.
Biden’s reported policy change came at a moment of acute sensitivity in the conflict.
Thousands of North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia with a view to deployment in Ukraine, with Ukrainian officials saying that their forces have already engaged Pyongyang’s troops on the battlefield. The election of Donald Trump could also dramatically change the course of the war, with the president-elect vowing to quickly end the bloodshed upon his return to the White House. Exactly how Trump intends to do so is not yet clear.
Speaking at a special session of the European Parliament Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky thanked the nations of Europe for their continued support.
“We must do everything to end this war—fairly and justly … and, of course, together,” Zelensky said. “Together. A thousand days of war is a tremendous challenge. Tremendous challenge. Ukraine deserves to make next year the year of peace.”
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