(Bloomberg) — Ukrainian forces reportedly carried out their first strike on a border region in Russia using Western-supplied missiles as President Vladimir Putin approved an updated nuclear doctrine expanding the conditions for using atomic weapons.
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Ukraine deployed ATACMS missiles to strike a military facility in the western Bryansk region, RBC Ukraine reported on Tuesday, citing an official in the nation’s military. It was the first known attack following the decision by President Joe Biden’s administration to approve Kyiv’s limited use of the weapons to hit targets inside Russia.
Ukraine’s General Staff confirmed a strike on a warehouse in the city of Karachev, detonating ammunition stored at the site some 115 kilometers (71 miles) from the border with Ukraine. Neither the General Staff nor the Defense Ministry would comment on what missiles were used, saying the information is classified.
Meanwhile, Putin signed a decree allowing Russia to fire nuclear weapons in response to a massive conventional attack on its soil, including by drones. Russia will view aggression against itself or its allies by a non-nuclear state backed by a nuclear power as a joint attack, the document posted online said. That follows a pledge Putin made in September to revise the doctrine.
Government bonds and traditional haven currencies including the Japanese yen and Swiss franc surged as investors rushed to buy the safest assets. The German 10-year yield fell as much as eight basis points to its lowest since October.
Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, on Tuesday confirmed that Russia, which invaded Ukraine in February 2022, would consider an attack by Kyiv using Western missiles as a strike by a non-nuclear state supported by a nuclear power.
“The Russian Federation retains the right to use nuclear weapons in the case of aggression using conventional weapons against it” that poses a critical threat to sovereignty or territorial integrity, Peskov said according to the state-run Tass news service.
The Russian leader has warned the US and its European allies against allowing Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia using Western long-range high-precision weapons, saying this would bring them into direct conflict with his country.
Ukraine has been firing its home-made drones deep into Russia for months, but the US weapons are more destructive. Officials in Ukraine have said they need the capability to hit the air bases and planes Russia uses for glide-bomb and missile attacks.
