Russian President, Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a new law allowing nuclear retaliation in response to conventional weapon attacks, hours after Ukraine struck an ammunition depot in Bryansk using US-supplied Atacms missiles.
Tribune Online reports on Tuesday that the strike, which occurred near the southern Russian border, marked the first known use of Western long-range missiles by Ukraine on Russian soil.
According to Yahoo News, video footage of the pre-dawn attack revealed the facility engulfed in flames, with trails of white smoke confirming the use of advanced weaponry.
Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, had persistently lobbied Western allies for access to long-range systems like the Atacms, finally receiving US approval on Monday following reports of North Korean soldiers joining Russian forces.
In a swift response to the escalating threat, Putin enacted a nuclear doctrine that permits atomic strikes if Russia’s territorial integrity is endangered, even by conventional weapons.
The policy also extends to scenarios where a non-nuclear nation like Ukraine launches an attack with the backing of a nuclear-armed ally such as the US or the UK.
Dmitry Medvedev, Russia’s deputy security council chief, warned of catastrophic consequences, stating that strikes like Ukraine’s could prompt Russia to use “weapons of mass destruction” against Kyiv and NATO targets worldwide.
Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergey Lavrov, while speaking recently at the G20 summit in Brazil, accused the West of fuelling the conflict by providing advanced weaponry to Ukraine. Lavrov alleged US involvement in guiding the Atacms missiles, claiming the assault signalled a deliberate escalation of the war.
Meanwhile, Russia has reportedly mobilised mobile nuclear bunkers across the country. The KUB-M class shelters, capable of shielding up to 54 individuals from nuclear fallout, were deployed to undisclosed locations, according to the All-Russian Research Institute of Civil Defence and Emergencies.
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