Ukraine uses Western missiles for first time to strike Russia: report

Ukraine's reported use of Western missiles and Putin signing off on revised nuclear doctrine spooks markets

Ukraine has used Western-supplied missiles for the first time to strike on a border region in Russia, RBC Ukraine reported on Tuesday, citing a Ukrainian military official.

Kyiv deployed the ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) missiles to strike a military facility in western Bryansk, the report said.

The reported attack came a day after US President Joe Biden’s administration gave its nod for the limited use of such weapons in Russia.

ATACMS is a short-range ballistic missile system used by the US Army to strike at high-value targets such as enemy formations, airfields, command centers, and missile sites with precision.

Putin revises nuclear doctrine

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday signed a decree, expanding the conditions for using atomic weapons, allowing Moscow to fire nuclear weapons in response to a massive conventional attack on its soil, including by drones.

Moscow will consider any aggression against it or its allies by a non-nuclear state that is backed by a nuclear power as a joint attack, the decree, which was posted online, read.

In particular, the amended doctrine “expands the range of countries and military alliances subject to nuclear deterrence, as well as the list of military threats that such deterrence is designed to counter,” Russia TASS news agency said.

The document lists ten threats that require counteraction through deterrence, ranging from nuclear arsenals in the possession of hostile parties, to potential unchecked proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems.

Other threats include military buildup near Russia’s borders, the development of anti-ballistic missile systems, deployment of conventional weapon systems that can strike Russian territory, and potential sabotage plots to cause large-scale environmental disasters.

Stocks dive, safe havens rise

The latest flare-up in tension sent stocks diving while demand for save-haven assets, including the Japanese yen and Swiss franc,? rose.

India’s benchmark indices, the Sensex and the Niifty, which snapped a four-session losing streak on Monday initially rose by about 1% before trimming gains towards the end of the session as reports of Ukraine’s strike emerged.

The German 10-year yield fell as much as eight basis points to its lowest since October, Bloomberg reported.

Biden’s nod for Kyiv to use US missiles

Meanwhile, Biden’s nod to Kyiv to use the missiles came after several Russian rockets launched on Sunday targeted energy plants and struck the residential area of the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy, reportedly killing 11, including 2 children, and injuring 80 people.

Russian missiles hit the southern Ukrainian city of Odesa on Monday, killing 8, according to Ukrainian authorities, who called Moscow’s attack on Sunday as the most significant attack since the beginning of the war in February 2022.

“Strikes are not made with words; the missiles will speak for themselves,” Zelenskyy had said while welcoming the change in US’ stance.

“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the team’s policies that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” he said.

Zelenskyy’s government had been lobbying the Biden administration to use the ATACMS missiles, which permit long-range attacks.

The US administration had refused permission because of the possibility of escalating the war.

The latest US nod comes as Biden’s presidency draws to a close in two months, with President-elect Donald Trump seen as less supportive of Ukraine’s attempt to reclaim the territory now occupied by Russia.

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