on the 1,000th day of war, Moscow increases the pressure

A first, at 1,000^e day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. On Tuesday, November 19, Moscow accused kyiv of having attacked its territory during the night with long-range American missiles. “At 3:25 a.m. the enemy struck a site in the Bryansk region”not far from the Ukrainian border, with “ATACMS tactical missiles”according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, which specifies that military installations were targeted, also ensuring that five missiles were destroyed and another damaged by its anti-aircraft defense.

Westerners “want escalation”

“The attack on the Bryansk region was carried out with ATACMS missiles”confirmed a senior Ukrainian official, speaking on condition of anonymity. Questioned on this subject, Volodymyr Zelensky neither denied nor confirmed, limiting himself to saying that his country had ATACMS at its disposal and would “use them”.

The Kremlin's accusation comes a few days after Washington gave kyiv the green light to strike Russian soil with these ATACMS missiles, which Moscow had presented as a red line. On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin responded by signing the decree formalizing his new nuclear doctrine, which expands the possibility of using atomic weapons in the event of an air assault « massif » by a non-nuclear country but supported by a nuclear power. Clear references to Ukraine and the United States. “It was necessary to adapt our foundations (from the nuclear doctrine) to the current situation »coldly noted Dmitri Peskov, the Kremlin spokesperson.

An outcome in 2025?

From Rio de Janeiro, on the sidelines of the G20, the head of Russian diplomacy Sergei Lavrov promised a response on Tuesday “appropriate” to Ukrainian fire. In front of the press, he affirmed that the ATACMS could not be fired by the Ukrainians “without the help of American experts and instructors” which notably provide “satellite data, programming and targeting”. The use of ATACMS to strike Russian soil is “a signal” according to which Ukraine and the West “want climbing”estimated Sergei Lavrov.

In a speech to the Ukrainian Parliament, Volodymyr Zelensky estimated that the outcome of the war would be decided in 2025, “by diplomatic means”. The Ukrainian head of state, however, considers that kyiv needs more military means to inflict defeats on the Kremlin and approach negotiations from a position of strength. He also acknowledged that Ukraine might have to wait until after Putin to ” restore “ its territorial integrity, with the Russians occupying nearly 20% of its area.