Ukraine has fired US-supplied missiles into Russia for the first time, reports the BBC.
Russia’s defence ministry said the strike targeted the Bryansk region bordering Ukraine on Tuesday morning.
It said five missiles were shot down and one caused damage – with its fragments igniting a fire at a military facility.
But two US officials said initial indications suggested Russia had intercepted just two missiles out of around eight fired by Ukraine.
The BBC has not been able to independently verify the contradicting figures.
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov accused Washington of trying to escalate the conflict.
“That Atacms was used repeatedly overnight against Bryansk Region is of course a signal that they [the US] want escalation,” he said.
“And without the Americans, use of these high-tech missiles, as [Russian President Vladimir] Putin has said many times, is impossible.”
He said Russia would proceed from the understanding that the missiles were operated by American military experts.
He told a press conference in Rio de Janeiro: “We will be taking this as a renewed face of the Western war against Russia and we will react accordingly,”.
Earlier on Tuesday, the Kremlin approved changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, setting out new conditions under which the country would consider using its arsenal.
It now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.
Commenting on the changes, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said: “Since the beginning of its war of aggression against Ukraine, [Russia] has sought to coerce and intimidate both Ukraine and other countries around the world through irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and behaviour.”
He added the US had not seen any reason to change its own nuclear posture, but would continue to call on Russia to stop bellicose and irresponsible rhetoric.
sa/mud
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