Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a new decree to approve the use of nuclear weapons ‘under threat’ as fears of a widespread conflict rise
Vladimir Putin has approved a new nuclear protocol, as fears of a third worldwide conflict escalate after his recent missile threat.
The Russian president signed a new decree to approve the use of nuclear weapons “under threat”, according to the country’s TASS news agency. The document, called the “Fundamentals of State Police in the Sphere of Nuclear Deterrence”, reportedly says: “Nuclear weapons (NW) are an extreme measure to protect the sovereignty of the country. At the same time, due to the emergence of new military threats and risks, Russia needed to clarify the parameters that allow the use of NW.”
The document signed by Putin is said to be an update to a previous version from June 2020 – and his said to be a way for the president to save his face as his invasion of Ukraine edges closer to 1,000 days.
It comes after Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky issued a chilling warning ahead of fresh US missile strikes on Russia and claimed the weapons “will speak for themselves”. During a chilling video address, the Ukrainian leader addressed for the first time Joe Biden’s decision to to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles.
Despite the Kremlin stating it could add “fuel to the fire” of the war and escalate international tensions even higher, Zelensky hit back stating: “There’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves.”
Zelensky and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids. It came as a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, including a child, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.
This is a breaking news story. Follow us on Google News, Flipboard, Apple News, Twitter, Facebook or visit The Mirror homepage.