For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Sign up to our free breaking news emails
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a revised nuclear doctrine to lower the bar for future nuclear weapon use.
The updated doctrine, first announced in September but signed by Putin this week, declares that an attack using conventional weapons by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will now be considered a joint attack on Russia. It does not specify whether a joint attack will trigger a nuclear response.
But the doctrine does declare that a massive aerial attack against Russia could trigger a nuclear response.
It comes as the UK is expected to allow Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles into Russian territory, as prime minister Keir Starmer says it is time to “double down” on support for Ukraine
US president Joe Biden previously agreed to permit the American long range Atacms missiles to be fired into Russia, finally relaxing its stance after months of lobbying by Kyiv and other western countries.
The Kremlin has accused the US of adding “fuel to the fire”, and said the move “will mean Nato countries – the US and European countries – are at war with Russia”.
Opinion: It’s not yet World War Three – but ‘World War Z’ has begun
Time was when optimists responded to the imminence of world war with a cocky: “It’ll all be over by Christmas…”
Since President Biden’s foreign policy team leaked his decision yesterday to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike military targets within Russia, pessimists have been warning that World War Three will start by Christmas.
The Russians certainly have been issuing blood-curdling warnings that any Western permission to Ukraine to use Nato-supplied rockets to attack Russia itself would trigger a terrible response.
Mark Almond writes:
It’s not yet World War Three – but ‘World War Z’ has begun
Joe Biden granting Ukraine permission to use Nato-supplied rockets to attack military targets within Russia is an escalation of a European conflict now in its 1,000th day – and, though it is far from being a global conflict, the West is effectively now at war with Putin’s forces, says Mark Almond
Alex Croft19 November 2024 11:25
Damaged undersea internet cables must be seen as ‘sabotage’, says German defence minister
Two undersea internet cables in the Baltic Sea were damaged on Sunday and Monday in what must be seen as an act of sabotage, the German defence minister has said.
A pair of fibre-optic communicatons cables connecting Germany to Findland and Lithuania to Sweden were severed. A joint statement from Finland and Germany said it “immediately raises suspicions of intentional damage”.
German defence minister Boris Pistorius said before a meeting with his EU counterparts on Tuesday that “no one believes” the cables were cut accidentally.
He added: “I also don’t want to believe in versions that these were anchors that accidentally caused damage over these cables.
“Therefore we have to state, without knowing specifically who it came from, that it is a ‘hybrid’ action. And we also have to assume, without knowing it yet, that it is sabotage.”
Alex Croft19 November 2024 11:06
UK commitment ‘ironclad’, says Starmer
Alex Croft19 November 2024 10:47
We are watching situation closely, says Kremlin
After reports merged that Ukraine might use the US-made ATACMS missile in Russia’s Kursk region, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the Russian military was monitoring the situation very closely.
It comes after US president Joe Biden’s administration allowed Ukraine to use the long-range missiles to strike deep into Russia, acccording to two US officials and a source familiar decision.
Alex Croft19 November 2024 10:32
Putin signs revised nuclear doctrine – increasing threat to West
Russian president Vladimir Putin has signed a revised nuclear doctrine which lowers the bar for using nuclear weapons.
The revisions were first announced in September, and have been signed by Putin after US president Joe Biden permitted the use of American long-range weapons deep inside Russian territory.
Any massive aerial attack may now provoke a nuclear response, the doctrine declares.
It also states that attack against his country by a nonnuclear power with the “participation or support of a nuclear power” will be seen as their “joint attack on the Russian Federation” – although it doesn’t specify whether this would be met with a nuclear response.
Nuclear weapons could also be used in response to aggression against Russia’s ally, Belarus.
Alex Croft19 November 2024 10:13
Participation by a nuclear state in aggression against Russia will be treated as joint attack, says Kremlin
Aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state will be treated as a joint attack, a spokesperson for the Kremlin has said.
It comes as Russia responds furiously to US president Joe Biden’s decision to allow the use of long-range missiles inside Russian territory.
The Kremlin’s aim is to ensure its potential enemies recognise the inevitability of Russian retaliation to any attack on Russia or its allies, the spokesperson added. But the Kremlin’s warnings of its readiness to use nuclear weapons are nothing new, and have been consistent over the past few years.
Russia has always aimed to minimise the nuclear threat, the spokesperson claimed.
Alex Croft19 November 2024 09:53
ATACMS: The US-made long-range missiles Ukraine could use to strike Russia after Biden’s green light
He argued the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.
We look closer at the weapons that could mark a turning point in the war.
Read Barney Davis’ full report:
Barney Davis19 November 2024 09:34
What is the Storm Shadow cruise missile? The British weapon Ukraine wants to hit Russia
In a major policy shift just weeks before his tenure in office ends, the US president signed off on Ukraine’s use of ATACMS missiles outside its own borders. This comes after months of refusing Kyiv’s requests, which it said was crucial for its defences against Russia’s invasion. The missiles are first likely to be used inside the Kursk region near Russia’s border, where troops have been massing to try and reclaim territory Kyiv’s forces took in a daring assault in the summer.
It also opens the door for the UK to authorise the use of Britain’s own long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia. But what are they?
Read the full report:
Alex Croft19 November 2024 09:14
Kremlin: We will use nuclear weapons if sovereignty threatened
Russia has reserved its right to use nuclear weapons in the event of agression against it or Belarus using conventional weapons, a Kremlin spokesperson has said.
Any critical threat to Russia’s sovereignty will be met with a severe response, Russia emphasised.
Russia still treats the use of nuclear weapons a means of deterrence, an extreme measure, the Kremlin added.
Putin’s regime has consistently sabre-rattled with the West over the threat of nuclear weapons.
Alex Croft19 November 2024 09:00
UK expected to allow long-range missile use inside Russia
The UK will “double down” on support for Ukraine, fuelling speculation that British-supplied missiles could be used by Kyiv’s forces to hit targets deep inside Russia.
Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike sites in Russia after months of pressure from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The UK Government would not be drawn on whether restrictions on the use of Storm Shadow missiles it supplied would also be eased, but Defence Secretary John Healey stressed the UK was working in “close co-operation” with the US.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said: “I’m not going to get into operational details, because the only winner, if we were to do that, is (Vladimir) Putin, and I’m not prepared to do that.”
He told broadcasters at the G20 summit in Brazil: “I’ve been really clear for a long time now we need to double down. We need to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.”
Alex Croft19 November 2024 08:55
