Ukraine fires US missiles, Russia promises response

Russia promised on Tuesday an “appropriate” response to the attack on its territory carried out by Ukraine with American ATACMS missiles, believing that the conflict was moving into “a new phase” and announcing that the possibilities of using the weapon nuclear power were thus expanded.

This rhetoric on the use of atomic weapons was denounced by Washington, the European Union and the United Kingdom, who castigated an “irresponsible” attitude from Moscow.

On the 1000th day of the invasion of Ukraine, the head of Russian diplomacy, Sergei Lavrov, for his part accused the Americans of having helped the Ukrainian army in these strikes on the Russian border region of Bryansk. They follow the green light given by Washington to kyiv on Sunday to fire these long-range missiles on Russian soil, which the Kremlin had presented as a red line.

In September, Vladimir Putin, who is demanding the surrender of Ukraine, warned that if this country fired on Russian territory with such Western missiles, it would mean that “the NATO countries are at war with Russia”.

The Russian president has not yet spoken publicly about Tuesday morning’s Ukrainian attack, which Moscow says targeted military installations.

According to the Russian army’s account, “at 3:25 a.m., the enemy struck a site in the Bryansk region”, not far from the Ukrainian border, with “ATACMS tactical missiles”. Five projectiles were destroyed and another damaged by Russian anti-aircraft defense.

These shots were confirmed to AFP by a Ukrainian official speaking on condition of anonymity, even if the head of state Volodymyr Zelensky limited himself to saying, at a press conference in kyiv, that his country had these missiles and was going to “use them”.

Mr. Lavrov for his part judged, on the sidelines of the G20 in Rio, that this sent “a signal” according to which Ukraine and the West “want escalation”. This is “a new phase in the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly,” he insisted. For him, these precise missiles supplied by the United States cannot be used by kyiv “without the help of American experts and instructors”.

In response, Mr. Lavrov invited Westerners to “read the entirety” of the new Russian nuclear doctrine, made official on Tuesday by Vladimir Putin, which expands the possibility of resorting to atomic weapons in the event of a “massive” attack. by a non-nuclear country but supported by a nuclear power. A clear reference to Ukraine and the United States.

“This is a new demonstration of the irresponsible rhetoric that Russia has demonstrated for two years,” reacted a spokesperson for the White House in Washington to AFP.

“Irresponsible rhetoric”, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer also commented, while assuring that “this will not dissuade us from supporting Ukraine”. The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, also deplored a “completely irresponsible” attitude.

Vladimir Putin has repeatedly raised the specter of the use of nuclear weapons since the start of the offensive in February 2022 against Ukraine.

Ukraine has been demanding for many months to be able to strike military targets deep in Russia to disrupt the logistics of its army, now supported by thousands of North Korean soldiers, according to kyiv and the West.

Facing the Ukrainian Parliament, Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that the outcome would come in 2025. “This stage will determine who will win,” he noted, convinced that “Ukraine can defeat Russia,” even if “it is very difficult.

But Mr. Zelensky acknowledged, for the first time, that Ukraine may have to wait until after Putin to “restore” its territorial integrity, with Russian forces occupying nearly 20% of its area. This is the first time that he has admitted that his country will “perhaps” have to accept, for a time, the loss of areas occupied by Russia.

Earlier, Ukrainian diplomacy had sworn that Ukraine would “never” submit to Moscow, while the Kremlin said it was sure, as usual, of victory.

On the ground, Russian troops are advancing on several sectors of the front, notably near Kourakhové (east), where they claimed the conquest of a new village on Tuesday. In addition, a Russian strike caused the death of ten people, including a child, in the Sumy region (north-east) during the night from Monday to Tuesday.

On the diplomatic level, the upcoming return of Donald Trump to the White House makes Ukraine fear that he will force kyiv into concessions. In this context, Poland and other European states affirmed to be “ready to assume the burden of military and financial support” to kyiv, declared the head of Polish diplomacy Radoslaw Sikorski, after a meeting in Warsaw with several of his European counterparts.

However, they will have to find lasting common ground, as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called Vladimir Putin a few days ago for the first time in two years. The Russian president must not “achieve his goals,” NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte insisted on Tuesday.