Russia's nuclear threats escalate as Ukraine gains Western support

[Anchor]

Before the war in Ukraine, Russia effectively occupied the strategically important regions of Crimea and Donbas along the Black Sea coast.

And in this war, it is taking control of the southeastern area of Ukraine that connects the two places.

Although it has already occupied 20% of Ukrainian territory, it is concentrating its firepower in eastern Donetsk to push the front line as far as possible in preparation for a potential ceasefire.

Russia is also accelerating its recapture operations by deploying North Korean troops in its territory of Kursk.

In response, Ukraine is increasingly likely to use European-made air-to-ground missiles, following the U.S.-made ground-to-ground missiles for attacks on Russian territory.

On the thousandth day since Russia's invasion, Russia threatened that it could respond with nuclear weapons in retaliation against the West.

This is reporter Andayang from Paris.

[Report]

Recently, Russia has been working on revising its nuclear doctrine, which includes principles for the use of nuclear weapons.

The core of this doctrine is that if a non-nuclear country attacks Russia with the support of nuclear-armed countries, it can be considered a joint attack, allowing for a nuclear response.

This is aimed at Ukraine, which is receiving support from Western nuclear powers such as the United States and the United Kingdom.

President Putin approved this nuclear doctrine today, and it will take effect immediately.

[Dmitry Peskov/Russian Kremlin Spokesperson: "The purpose of nuclear deterrence is to ensure that potential adversaries understand that retaliation from Russia is inevitable in the event of an invasion of the Russian Federation."]

This is interpreted as a counter-response to the U.S. allowing the use of ATACMS long-range missile system for attacks on Russian territory.

Following this, when the UK hinted at allowing the use of the Storm Shadow air-to-ground cruise missile with a range of 250 km that can be mounted on fighter jets, it seems to be a calculation to preemptively block such actions.

Germany has also announced that it will supply 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine.

With Western support and Russia's nuclear threats, the war in Ukraine is at a crossroads of escalation.

Reports have emerged that just two days after the allowance, the Ukrainian military attacked Russian territory for the first time with ATACMS.

The Russian Ministry of Defense also confirmed that Ukraine launched six ATACMS.

However, the Trump transition team is strongly opposing the Biden administration's allowance of ATACMS.

Many predict that the next two months leading up to the inauguration of the Trump administration will be a critical juncture in the war in Ukraine.

With Russia mentioning the possibility of a third world war and the use of nuclear weapons, tensions are escalating.

This is Andayang from KBS News in Paris.