LONDON — Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov informed journalists that new modifications to Russia’s nuclear weapons doctrine signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday imply “the usage of Western non-nuclear rockets by the Armed Forces of Ukraine towards Russia can immediate a nuclear response.”
Peskov’s remarks got here shortly after U.S. officers mentioned President Joe Biden had accepted Ukraine’s use of the long-range American-made MGM-140 Military Tactical Missile System — colloquially often called the ATACMS — to hit targets in Russia’s western Kursk area.
The modifications to Russia’s nuclear doctrine have been unveiled a number of weeks in the past however solely signed by Putin on Tuesday, as officers in Moscow expressed anger on the U.S. choice to permit ATACMS use on Russian territory.
The doctrine now says Russia can launch a nuclear assault towards a rustic aiding a non-nuclear nation in aggression towards Russia that critically threatens the nation’s state integrity.
Moscow has repeatedly threatened nuclear weapon use towards Ukraine and its Western companions all through its full-scale invasion of the nation.
Western leaders together with President Joe Biden have mentioned that avoiding a direct conflict between Russia and NATO is a prime precedence given the hazard of nuclear conflict.
This can be a growing story. Please test again for updates.