Tue Nov 19 16:39:20 UTC 2024: ## Russia Lowers Nuclear Threshold After Ukraine Missile Strike; West Condemns ‘Irresponsible’ Move

**Moscow, Brussels, Washington D.C. –** Russia has significantly lowered the threshold for using its nuclear arsenal, a move condemned by the West as reckless and irresponsible. The announcement follows a reported Ukrainian strike on Russian territory using US-supplied long-range ATACMS missiles.

Russia claims Ukraine used six ATACMS missiles to target a military facility in the Bryansk region, a claim corroborated by anonymous Ukrainian and US officials. Moscow describes this as a “new phase of the Western war” and vows to react accordingly. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized this escalation, urging the West to carefully consider the implications of Putin’s updated nuclear doctrine.

The revised doctrine, signed by President Vladimir Putin, broadens the circumstances under which Russia may use nuclear weapons. While previously limited to responses to nuclear attacks or existential conventional threats, the new doctrine allows for a nuclear response to conventional attacks deemed to threaten Russia’s sovereignty or territorial integrity, including those against its ally Belarus. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that a Ukrainian long-range missile strike could potentially trigger a nuclear response.

The West reacted swiftly and strongly to the announcement. US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller called Russia’s actions “irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behavior,” while the EU’s Josep Borrell denounced the threats as “completely irresponsible.” British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed these sentiments, labeling the move the “latest example of irresponsibility” from the Russian government. Despite the escalating tensions, the US stated it has no plans to adjust its own nuclear posture in response.

The incident highlights the rapidly escalating conflict, with accusations flying between Russia and Ukraine, and the West increasingly concerned about the potential for nuclear escalation. The use of long-range missiles and the lowering of Russia’s nuclear threshold mark a dangerous turning point in the 1000-day-old war.

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