Ukraine fired long-range US-made ATACMS missiles at Russia’s Bryansk Region. That is nowhere near the contested region where the battle has been in Ukraine.
This comes after the Biden administration reportedly authorized Ukraine to attack Russia with long-range weapons, a move that President Biden repeatedly promised the American people he would NOT do.
Russia responded to that news by saying that they would enact an “appropriate” response. Russian President Putin said that the Biden administration was “continuing to stoke tension around this conflict.”
Russia claims that it intercepted all six ATACMS missiles.
Russia also updated its nuclear doctrine, as they have been promising to do in order to “adapt to new realities.” Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov explained it thus:
“What is the most striking example of the realities of the modern day? Authority in the White House, in the United States takes a decision to use their weapons, American-produced weapons, against the Russian Federation. We needed that update, we ensured this.”
The doctrine clarifies that nuclear weapons are a last resort but it clarifies that it “will view a non-nuclear country (Ukraine) supported by a nuclear power (the U.S.) as a joint attack” and will “consider a nuclear response to a conventional weapons attack threatening its sovereignty, a large-scale launch of enemy aircraft, missiles, and drones targeting Russian territory, their crossing of the Russian border, and an attack on its ally Belarus.”
Does the U.S. and NATO really want to test to see if they’re serious?
While Western leaders dance around the idea of war with Russia, they are also in the company of Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at the G20 Summit in Brazil. Lavrov is participating in the international conference and “will address sessions on combating inequality, hunger, and poverty, as well as on the reform of global institutions.” He is also planning to “hold a series of bilateral talks on the sidelines of the event,” according to Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova.
