**Russia Threatens US Over Ukraine’s Long-Range Strikes**
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on November 19 that Moscow will respond to Washington’s permission for Ukraine to strike Russian soil with U.S. weapons.
Speaking at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Lavrov referred to Russia’s updated nuclear doctrine, which allows for nuclear retaliation against non-nuclear states supported by nuclear powers if they attack Russia or its allies.
Lavrov said that he didn’t know whether the US had authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons to target Russia. However, he emphasized that Moscow is focused on ensuring its security.
**Russia Expands Nuclear Deterrence Policy**
On November 19, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved an updated nuclear deterrence policy that expands the conditions for a nuclear strike.
The revised doctrine suggests that a nuclear strike could be justified if there’s aggression against Russia or its allies by a non-nuclear state with the support of a nuclear state. Large-scale non-nuclear attacks are also considered as possible triggers for a nuclear response.
**Threats of Nuclear War**
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy chairman of Russia’s Security Council, weighed in on the issue and threatened to use weapons of mass destruction against Ukraine and NATO. He wrote on Telegram that the updated doctrine could qualify Ukraine’s use of NATO-supplied missiles in Russia as a trigger for a “mass retaliatory strike with weapons of mass destruction” on Kyiv and main NATO facilities.
**Western Reactions**
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock dismissed the Kremlin‘s blackmail, calling it a tactic to exploit the West’s fears. The Pentagon also stated that there are no indications of Russia preparing to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine despite its revised nuclear doctrine.
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