Overnight, Ukraine used an ATACMS ballistic tactical missile to attack a Russian weapons depot. Forbes Ukraine and RBC Ukraine reported, citing anonymous sources, that the attack on the Karachev logistic center in Bryansk Oblast marked the first time ATACMS was used on Russian soil. It also took place just a day after Biden allowed US weapons to finally be used in strikes inside Russia. Karachev, located over 80 miles into Russia, was hit previously by Ukrainian drones.
ATACMS flew more than 140 km and hit a target in the Bryansk region, russia.
This means that the strike permit applies not only to Kurshchyna, as the Western media wrote about it. This attack also showed that the air defense of the russian Federation will have big problems with… pic.twitter.com/0Y1PU8g1Nt
— Jürgen Nauditt 🇩🇪🇺🇦 (@jurgen_nauditt) November 19, 2024
Russian sources say that six ATACMS missiles were fired on Karachev. Five of them were allegedly shot down and the fires in the depot were started by the wreckage from the sixth, which was damaged. The video from the site shows a very different story.
2. Massive explosion happens inside Bryansk, Russian 67th GRAU arsenal. There is a visible mushroom cloud, illuminated plasma. Likely another nuclear attack, but not fully confirmed. pic.twitter.com/n7pVU1uoce
— Korobochka (コロボ) 🇦🇺✝️ (@cirnosad) November 19, 2024
Putin re-evaluated the Russian nuclear doctrine in response to Biden’s statement.
Two days after Joe Biden, the US counterpart, permitted Ukraine for American-made weapons to be used against targets in Russia that are deep within its borders.
According to the new doctrine, Moscow will view any aggression by a non-nuclear country that includes a nuclear state as a joint assault on Russia.
Russia has claimed that Ukraine launched ATACMS-made missiles in the Russian region of Bryansk. If confirmed, the attack would be the first time Ukraine has used such missiles since Biden’s approval.
The Russian government warned that US approval of the deal would lead to a dangerous escalation in the war now in Ukraine.
This announcement is almost identical to that of the nuclear doctrine change announced on September 25th.
President Vladimir Putin warned the West on Wednesday that any conventional attack by an ally nation on Russia, backed by nuclear power, will be viewed as a joint assault on his country.
The Russian nuclear arsenal could be used to attack Ukraine with weapons of greater range, as outlined in the revised nuclear doctrine of Moscow.
It’s what they do. It’s what they do every time Putin makes a veiled nuclear threat. This time is no different.
Russia’s guide to bluffing: An illustrated history 🃏
(Updated to include Biden’s 300km ATACMS approval) pic.twitter.com/05vkB0uDa3— Euromaidan Press (@EuromaidanPress) November 18, 2024
If this type of attack had been permitted since the beginning of the war, the conflict would likely be over by now. It was a stupid decision to allow Russia to use US-made weapons against military targets in Ukraine while denying Ukraine the right to use American weapons to attack those supporting Russia’s invasion. This did not prevent an escalation but simply increased both sides’ death toll. It increases the chance that President Trump will end this war in a manner that doesn’t resemble the Afghanistan fiasco and further damage US credibility.
