Ukraine launches missiles into Russia…

A weapons arsenal in Bryansk region hit after Biden administration lifts restrictions on Kyiv’s use of Atacms missiles. From the FT:

The depot is 190km north of the frontline in the neighbouring Kursk region, where Russian forces are trying to push out Ukrainian troops who occupy about 600 sq km of territory after their surprise incursion in August.
The strikes came on the 1,000th day of the Kremlin’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Kyiv has pleaded with Washington for more than a year for permission to use western-supplied long-range weapons to strike military targets within Russia.
President Biden’s decision to lift the restrictions on their use marked a major US policy shift ahead of the return to power in January of president-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to bring the Ukraine war to a swift end without specifying how he would do so.

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Tuesday that lowered Moscow’s potential threshold for using nuclear weapons to include attacks by advanced western weapons such as Atacms.
The updated doctrine contains several clear warnings aimed at dissuading Ukraine’s allies, particularly the US, from letting Kyiv attack mainland Russia with advanced western weapons including cruise missiles, air strikes and drones.
Putin has previously said such a move would essentially mean Nato countries were directly at war with Russia.
The updated doctrine said that if Russia was attacked by a non-nuclear state with support from a nuclear power — a clear reference to the US, UK and France — it would be considered a joint attack.

With Trump likely to do a deal with Putin to end the conflict, is Biden giving the Ukrainians a last chance to strengthen their hand in negotiations?

Brian O'Neill

I help to manage Slugger by taking care of the site as well as running our live events. My background is in business, marketing and IT. My politics tend towards middle-of-the-road pragmatism, I am not a member of any political party. Oddly for a member of the Slugger team, I am not that interested in daily politics, preferring to write about big ideas in society. When not stuck in front of a screen, I am a parkrun Run Director.