Russia’s top diplomat Sergey Lavrov addressed reporters in Brazil.
Ukraine fired about six U.S.-made ATACMS on Russia’s Bryansk region in the early hours of Tuesday, prompting Moscow’s top diplomat to condemn the attack and say it is evidence that the U.S. intends to escalate the conflict.
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Sergey Lavrov, who was in Brazil at the time, noted that these weapons are highly sophisticated and would require Americans to operate, which would mean Washington is providing Ukraine with more than just weapons and intelligence. It would mean its forces are playing an active role in the war.
SUBSCRIBE AND GET TODAY’S ISSUE “Without the Americans, it’s not possible to use them,” he told reporters at the G-20 in Rio de Janeiro.
The decision by Ukraine to launch these missiles, which were reportedly intercepted, came less than two days after the Biden administration gave Kyiv the approval to fire the long-range weapons provided by Washington to strike targets deep inside Russia.
(The Associated Press, citing a U.S. official, reported that Ukraine fired “about eight of the missiles, and just two were intercepted by the Russians.”)
“The official said that the U.S. was still assessing battle damage, but that the missiles struck an ammunition supply location in Karachev, a city of about 18,000 people in Russia’s Bryansk region. The official spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss intelligence assessments.”
Analysts have noted that the ATACMS missile range is about 150 miles, which does not threaten Moscow or St. Petersburg.
Dmitry Medvedev, the deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, posted on X after the strike that “Russia's new nuclear doctrine means NATO missiles fired against our country could be deemed an attack by the bloc on Russia. Russia could retaliate with WMD against Kiev and key NATO facilities, wherever they're located. That means World War III.”
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced changes to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine—lowering the threshold for a nuclear response by the Kremlin. Putin announced the changes amid the West’s increased weapons support for Ukraine and discussions about allowing Kyiv to use Western-provided long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia.
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One of the key changes in the doctrine is that Russia will consider an attack by a nonnuclear state with the backing of a nuclear state as a “joint attack on the Russian Federation,” according to The New York Times.
Lavrov told reporters that Western leaders should review the updated doctrine.
He was asked if Tuesday’s strikes could result in Russia responding with a nuclear attack and he said the Kremlin’s position is that “nuclear weapons are meant above all to prevent the outbreak of nuclear war. And that’s precisely how we view this situation.”
Source: Trends Journal.
