Putin Signs New Doctrine Widening Rules On Nuclear Weapons Use

The Kremlin has accused U.S. President Joe Biden of seeking to escalate the conflict in Ukraine by lifting restrictions on long-range weapons, while the U.S. leader urged G20 states to support Ukraine’s sovereignty.

The remarks on November 18 come a day after multiple media reports said Biden had granted Ukraine permission to use U.S. weapons to strike deeper into Russia. The White House has not commented officially on the reports.

Biden, while not mentioning the reported missile agreement, urged leaders at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro — which is being attended by Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov — to step up support for Kyiv.

“The United States strongly supports Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Everyone around this table in my view should as well,” Biden said.

The developments come after months of lobbying by Ukrainian officials, including President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, for Western states to give Kyiv the green light to use donated weapons to their full potential to hit targets currently out of range.

The United States, along with other NATO states, has to this point imposed a limit on the distance U.S. missiles could strike into Russian territory.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said a move to alter that limit would usher in a new round of tensions and deepen U.S. involvement in Russia’s war on Ukraine.

“It’s obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps in order to continue fueling the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions,” Peskov said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin in September warned the West that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.

Russian lawmaker Leonid Slutsky said such a move would lead to escalation.

“U.S. missile strikes deep into Russian territory will inevitably lead to a major escalation that threatens to have far more serious consequences,” said Slutsky, the chairman of the State Duma’s Foreign Affairs Committee, in an interview with the state-run news agency TASS.

The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to support Russia in the Kursk region, where Ukraine mounted a military incursion over the summer. Reports have suggested that Ukraine would still be limited to striking that southwestern Russian region.

The move also opens the door for the United Kingdom and France to follow suit, potentially enabling Ukraine to deal Russia a blow at a critical moment in the war. Ukraine is seeking to hold onto territorial gains in Russia’s Kursk region that could be crucial to any future negotiation.

Still, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said at the G20 summit that Berlin was “sticking with” his decision not to send Ukraine long-range Taurus cruise missiles, one of the most powerful weapons in its arsenal.

However, Zelenskiy’s reaction to the news was somewhat reserved.

“Today, much is being said in the media about us receiving permission for the relevant actions. But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves,” Zelenskiy said in his nightly video address.

David Silbey, a Cornell University professor specializing in military history, defense policy, and battlefield analysis, told RFE/RL that the White House was likely attempting to give Ukraine everything it can before the administration changes from Biden to Donald Trump, who has criticized the level of U.S. aid to Kyiv.

He cautioned, however, that the move might not be a major game-changer.

Allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles “now will mean that Ukraine can hit targets deeper in Russia, both military and civilian, and will likely do some damage and force the Russians to pull military assets out of range.”

“In larger terms of the war, however, it’s unlikely to have much effect, just like the previous weapons systems — the Abrams tank, the F-16 fighter — that the U.S. hesitated and then finally sent. There’s no magical war-winning weapon that will reverse the tide, which has been in Russia’s favor for a while.

“The war’s being decided in the east of Ukraine. It’s being decided by firepower and human capital. On both of those, Ukraine is at a disadvantage — giving them the ability to strike deeper into Russia is not going to help against mass attacks in the east.”

Meanwhile, Kyiv’s European allies have been more upbeat in their reaction to the news.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said Biden’s action could be a decisive moment in the war.

“This decision was very necessary…. Russia sees that Ukraine enjoys strong support and that the West’s position is unyielding and determined. It’s a very important, potentially decisive moment in this war,” Duda told journalists.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Washington’s move was important in terms of military support for Ukraine but stressed it did not signal a shift in strategy by the West.

“The decision from the American side, and I would like to emphasize that this is not a rethink but an intensification of what has already been delivered by other partners, is so important at this moment,” Baerbock said in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Germany’s top diplomat also issued a warning to supporters of Russian President Putin, and said the European Union was preparing new sanctions against Iran as well as looking at the issue of Chinese drone support.

Also speaking in Brussels, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell expressed hope that the bloc’s members would follow Washington’s lead.

“I’ve been saying once and again that Ukraine should be able to use the arms we provided to them, in order to not only stop the arrows but also to be able to hit the archers,” Borrell said.

Also speaking ahead of the meeting, Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp said he thought Biden’s decision was an “adequate response” to Russia deploying North Korean troops.

However, Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico — who has criticized Western policies on Ukraine and has opposed EU sanctions on Russia – denounced the reported U.S. decision, saying it would endanger any potential talks.

“This is an unprecedented escalation of tensions, a decision that thwarts hopes for the start of any peace talks and an end to the mutual killing of Slavs in Ukraine,” Fico said.

With reporting by Reuters and AFP