Russia claims it shot down US-made ATACMS missiles and issued a nuclear threat

The Russian Defense Ministry said on Tuesday it defeated a Ukrainian ATACMS attack in the western Bryansk region, shortly before the Kremlin updated its nuclear weapons doctrine to allow nuclear strikes in response to foreign ballistic missile attacks.

Ukrainian forces fired six “ballistic missiles,” the ministry wrote on its official Telegram page, five of which were shot down and the sixth damaged. “According to confirmed data, US-made ATACMS operational-tactical missiles were used,” it wrote.

“ATACMS fragments fell on the technical area of ​​a military facility in the Bryansk region, a fire broke out, it was extinguished,” the ministry added.

The ministry claimed the attack shortly after Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters that the changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine – signed by President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday – meant “the use of Western non-nuclear missiles by Ukraine’s armed forces against Russia could provoke a nuclear response.” “

Peskov’s remarks came after three US officials confirmed to ABC News that President Joe Biden had approved Ukraine’s use of the long-range US-made MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System – colloquially known as ATACMS – to hit targets in Russia’s western Kursk area.

Bryansk borders Kursk to the west. The target and location of Tuesday’s alleged Ukrainian attack is unclear. Kyiv has not yet commented on the Russian Defense Ministry’s report.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Tuesday that the reported ATACMS attack is a signal that Western nations “want escalation.”

“It is impossible to use these high-tech missiles without the Americans, as Putin has repeatedly said,” Lavrov said during a news conference at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

The extent of US assistance to Ukraine in the battlefield operation of ATACMS remains unclear. The platform uses an enhanced inertial guidance system combined with GPS to zero in on designated targets. Kiev is completely dependent on the US for replacement missiles.

The Biden administration has not publicly confirmed the ATACMS policy change. State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters at a Monday briefing that he would not confirm or deny approval of ATACMS use in Russia, but said the U.S. response to Russian and North Korean military cooperation in the war “would be firm.”

There are now about 10,000 North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region slated for deployment to the battlefield, US officials have said.

The changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine were unveiled several weeks ago, but were only signed by Putin on Tuesday, as officials in Moscow expressed anger at the US decision to allow the use of ATACMS on Russian territory.

MORE: Why Biden’s Ukraine ATACMS green light could mean peace talks pressure for Putin

The doctrine now states that Russia can launch a nuclear strike against a country that assists a non-nuclear country in aggression against Russia that critically threatens that country’s state integrity.

Moscow has repeatedly threatened to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and its Western partners throughout its full-scale invasion of the country.

Western leaders, including President Joe Biden, have said avoiding a direct clash between Russia and NATO is a top priority given the danger of nuclear war.

ABC News’ Joe Simonetti and Tanya Stukalova contributed to this report.

Russia claims it shot down US-made ATACMS missiles and issued a nuclear threat originally appeared on abcnews.go.com