Ukrainian troops have launched an attack against a Russian border region with six US long-range missiles, Moscow has said. It comes after Vladimir Putin approved an updated doctrine lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.
By Ivor Bennett, Moscow correspondentSo what will Russia do now? Will Vladimir Putin really reach for the red button?In theory, he could. After approving changes to Russia's nuclear doctrine earlier today, he does now have that option.In what was a thinly veiled warning to the West, he lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike, allowing Moscow to respond with nukes if it's attacked by any state using conventional weapons. That includes missiles, aircraft, even drones.
Moscow now also formally considers an assault on its territory by a non-nuclear power that is supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack.It's not the first time we've heard these threats. And now after months of weighing them, Washington is finally calling Moscow's bluff.There are compelling reasons as to why Russia won't follow through. Its main ally, China, won't tolerate it for starters.
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