Putin warns US with new nuclear doctrine after Biden’s arms decision on Ukraine

President Vladimir Putin on Nov 19 updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine, two days after his US counterpart Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia with American-made weapons.

The change comes as Russia claimed Ukraine fired the US-made ATACMS missiles into the Russian region of Bryansk on Nov 19. The attack, if confirmed, would mark Ukraine's first use of an American-made weapon since Biden gave the green light.

Under the updated doctrine, Moscow will consider aggression from any non-nuclear state – but with the participation of a nuclear country – a joint attack on Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry on Nov 19 said that Ukraine fired the US-made missiles into Russia’s Bryansk region.

The attack marks the first time Ukraine has used the longer-range American weapons to strike targets deep inside Russia, and shows that Kyiv has wasted little time in making use of its newly-granted powers.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky declined to confirm or deny the attack during a Nov 19 news conference but said, “Ukraine has long-range capabilities. Ukraine has long-range drones of its own production. We now have a long ‘Neptune’ (Ukrainian cruise missiles) and not just one. And now we have ATACMS. And we will use all of this.”

At 3:25 a.m. local time (7:25 p.m. ET) Tuesday, Ukraine fired six ballistic missiles at a facility in Bryansk, Russia’s Defense Ministry said. It said that American-made ATACMS missiles had been used in the attack.

Russian air defenses in a statement said they shot down five of the missiles and another was damaged. Fragments from the damaged missile fell on the territory of a military facility, causing a fire that has since been extinguished. There were no casualties or damage.

The Russian government had previously signaled that the US approval would be a dangerous escalation of the war in Ukraine, now 1,000 days old.

In a statement, Moscow spokesperson Dmitry Peskov noted the changes mean that “the Russian Federation reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in the event of aggression using conventional weapons against it and/or the Republic of Belarus.”

"The military operation against Kyiv continues," Peskov added.

Pertinently Joe Biden administration had made a significant policy change, allowing Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia for the first time.

This decision came just two months before President Biden hands over power to Donald Trump, who has expressed skepticism about US military aid to Ukraine.

Peskov also said that aggression by a non-nuclear state with the participation of a nuclear state is considered as a joint attack referring to Ukraine and its Western backers.

He added that, Russia "has always viewed nuclear weapons as a means of deterrence," and that they would only be deployed if Russia feels "forced" to.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) chief has said that Putin must not 'get his way' in Ukraine. However, only a month back, he had said that he does not see an imminent danger of nuclear weapons from Russia despite "reckless and irresponsible" from the country.

The nuclear doctrine will also be extended to Russia's close ally Belarus.

This reflects Putin's swiftness to force the West to back down while Russia continues its slow-moving offense in Ukraine.

According to a Bloomberg report, Ukrainian armed forces carried out their first strike in a border region within Russian territory with an ATACMS missile, RBC Ukraine reported citing an official in the nation's military.

The war between Russia and Ukraine, the deadliest conflict Europe has seen since the World War II, marks its 1,000th day today. Over one million people have reportedly either died or have been grievously injured since the beginning of the war.

Amid the grim reality of the deadliest war of the 21st Century, cities, towns, and villages in Ukraine have been devastated and now lie in ruin. The loss of human life and material wealth keeps mounting in a never-ending series of heartbreaking stories emerging from the war-torn country.

Pertinently, both Russia and Ukraine have diminishing populations and have been struggling even before the war. The staggering death count due to the war will thereby have far-reaching demographic implications for both nations.