It comes after Russia updated the official nuclear doctrine
Russia’s defence ministry has reported that Ukraine has hit Russia with ATACMS missiles supplied by the US.
Russian state media cited the ministry as saying Ukrainian troops launched six ATACMS missiles at night on a target in the Bryansk region.
Air defence systems crew shot down five shells and damaged another but missile fragments fell on the technical territory of the military facility, causing a fire.
The news agency cited the ministry as saying the missiles caused no casualties or damage.
Earlier today it was revealed Vladimir Putin has approved an updated nuclear doctrine which lowers the threshold for using nuclear weapons.
It says that Russia could consider using nuclear weapons if it is subject to a conventional missile assault on it supported by a nuclear power.
The decision to change the official doctrine has been a process which has taken months, but Putin signing it this week appears to be a response to the Biden administration allowing Ukraine to fire American long-range missiles into Russian territory.
It was one of Biden’s last moves as US president to grant permission to Ukraine to use US missiles to strike Russia and it caused fury in Moscow.
Putin has previously called the move “an unacceptable red line”, as Western leaders, including UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer at the G20, think about their next steps.
The updated doctrine states that Russia’s leadership could consider a nuclear strike if an attack with conventional missiles, drones or other aircraft was to happen.
It also said any aggression against Russia by a State which was a member of a coalition would be considered by Moscow to be aggression against it by the whole coalition.
Weeks before the US general election, Putin ordered changes to the nuclear doctrine to say that any conventional attack on Russia aided by a nuclear power could be considered to be a joint attack on Russia.
The war which has been raging for 1,000 days has triggered the gravest confrontation between Russia and the West since the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis.
While Sir Keir Starmer has issued a rallying cry for Kyiv’s allies to ‘double down’ on their support, a statement issued by the G20 read: “We welcome all relevant and constructive initiatives that support a comprehensive, just, and durable peace, upholding all the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter for the promotion of peaceful, friendly, and good neighbourly relations among nations.”
