Russia warned on Tuesday it would respond after Ukraine fired long-range US missiles into its territory for the first time, as President Vladimir Putin issued a nuclear threat on the 1,000th day of the war.
The attack on Russia’s Bryansk region on Tuesday “was carried out by ATACMS missiles” – a reference to the US-supplied Army tactical missile system, a senior official told AFP.
Speaking 1,000 days after Russia invaded Ukraine, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the attack showed Western countries wanted to “escalate” the conflict.
“We will take this as a qualitatively new stage of the Western war against Russia. And we will respond accordingly,” Lavrov said at a news conference at the G20 summit in Brazil.
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday lowering the limits on the use of nuclear weapons, a move that the White House, the UK and the European Union described as “irresponsible”.
Putin has used anti-nuclear rhetoric throughout the conflict, but since last year he has become increasingly aggressive, pulling out of the nuclear test ban treaty and a major arms reduction agreement with the US.
Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky at a summit in Brazil accused G20 leaders of failing to act on Putin’s nuclear threats and said the Russian leader is not interested in peace.
A Russian strike in the Sumy region of eastern Ukraine late Monday destroyed a Soviet-era residential building and killed at least 12 people, including a child, according to officials.
nuclear saber strike
Washington said this week that it has approved Ukraine to use ATACMS against military targets inside Russia – a long-standing Ukrainian request.
Russia said on Tuesday that Ukraine had used missiles overnight against a facility in the Bryansk region close to the border.
“At 03:25 am (0025 GMT), the enemy attacked a site in the Bryansk region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used,” a Defense Ministry statement said. Went.”
Lavrov said the 300-kilometre (186 mi) range missiles could not be fired without US technical assistance.
Moscow has said the use of Western weapons against its internationally recognized territory would make the US a direct participant in the conflict.
Confirmation of the attack came shortly after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree enabling Moscow to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear states such as Ukraine if they are supported by nuclear powers.
The new nuclear doctrine also allows Moscow to respond nuclearly in the event of a “large-scale” air attack, even if only with conventional weapons.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said it was necessary “to bring our principles in line with the current situation.”
‘Direct threat’ to the West
The 1,000th day of Russia’s offensive – slated for February 24, 2022 – comes at a dangerous time for Ukrainian forces, especially near the war-torn cities of Kupyansk and Pokrovsk.
Russia has also stepped up attacks on Ukrainian cities in recent days, with attacks on city centers and residential buildings that have killed dozens of civilians.
Ukrainian forces have been steadily losing ground in Russia’s Kursk region, where they seized the area in August, and have warned that Russia has deployed about 50,000 troops, including North Korean forces, to retake the area. .
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Chinese President Xi Jinping on Tuesday that Russia’s reported deployment of North Korean troops in the war against Ukraine risks worsening the conflict.
Both sides geared up their economies to help the war effort.
Ukrainian lawmakers voted on Tuesday to approve a 2025 budget allocating more than $50 billion – or 60 percent of all spending – to defense and security.
Russia’s parliament approved a budget last month that will increase defense spending by about 30 percent next year.
NATO chief Mark Rutte warned on Tuesday that Putin should not be allowed to dominate.
“Why is it so important that Putin doesn’t get his way? Because Russia will be emboldened on our border… and I’m absolutely sure it won’t stop there,” Rutte told reporters in Brussels.
“Then it poses a direct threat to all of us in the West,” he said.
The EU’s outgoing top diplomat Josep Borrell also pressured member states to agree with Washington to allow Kiev to strike inside Russia using long-range missiles donated by Kiev.
“This is completely in line with international law,” he said.
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
