Ukraine has fired US-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) into Russia’s Bryansk Oblast, marking a major escalation of the conflict that Russia has made clear risks nuclear war.
The escalation came as Russian President Vladimir Putin formalized changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that lowered the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons, a step he took in direct response to President Biden authorizing Ukraine to use ATACMS, which have a range of about 190 miles, in strikes deep inside Russia.
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukraine fired six ATACMS into Bryansk. “At 3:25 am this morning, the enemy struck a site on the territory of the Bryansk Region with six ballistic missiles. According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS tactical missiles were used. As a result of an anti-missile battle, five missiles were shot down, and one was damaged by crews of S-400 and Pantsir missile defense systems,” the ministry said, according to TASS.
The ministry said missile debris fell on the territory of a military site, causing a fire, but no damage or casualties were reported. Russian Foreign Sergey Lavrov said the attack shows that the West seeks escalation, pointing to the fact that Ukraine cannot fire ATACMS without US-provided intelligence.
“The fact that multiple ATACMS were used last night against the Bryansk Region signals that they want escalation. You see, it is impossible to use these high-tech missiles without the Americans, and Putin has repeatedly said this,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov also said that he hopes Ukraine’s Western backers read Russia’s new nuclear doctrine, which considers an attack by a non-nuclear armed state that’s supported by a nuclear-armed power as a joint attack. The doctrine allows the use of nuclear weapons in response to a conventional attack against Russia or Belarus if it is deemed a critical threat to Russia’s sovereignty.
The nuclear doctrine states that Russia’s nuclear deterrence is aimed at “a potential adversary, which may encompass individual countries and military alliances (blocs, unions) that regard Russia as a potential enemy and possess nuclear and/or other weapons of mass destruction, or have substantial combat capabilities of general-purpose forces.”
Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, the current deputy chair of Russia’s Security Council, wrote on X that the new nuclear doctrine means Russia can use Weapons of Mass Destruction against Ukraine and NATO.
“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,” Medvedev wrote on X in English.
The New York Times first reported on Sunday that President Biden had authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS in strikes on Russian territory even though US officials acknowledged the escalation wasn’t expected to alter the course of the war.