Russia Lowers Its Threshold for Using Nukes Against Ukraine After Biden Okays Long-Range US Missiles

The war in Ukraine has reached a grim milestone. It has been 1,000 days since Russia invaded its neighbor in February 2022. As the human toll continues to mount there's an ominous development. Moscow is lowering its threshold for using nuclear weapons.n a makeshift maternity ward in the basement of a hospital in the Kherson region, Rosa Antonova cradles her newborn baby, Amelia, tightly.

"All the plans we had before the war, we decided that there is probably no time to postpone anything for later, we have to live for now," said Antonova. "Despite the fact that the war continues, and despite the consequences in the city and in Ukraine in general, we try to hold on."

For her and for people across Ukraine, today's milestone is another sad reminder of how 1,000 days of fighting have led to immense human suffering, with millions of lives disrupted, cities in ruins, and the toll of military casualties growing daily.

"Every day we live in Ukraine is a miracle," said Anzhelika Tatarynova, who escaped from Kherson and now lives in the Ukrainian capital.

In Kyiv, a memorial has sprung up in the heart of the city, dotted with Ukrainian flags, each honoring a soldier who died fighting Russia.

Svitlana Kirichenko came to place a flag to remember her fallen son. "I put the flag so that someone would pass by and see that this person lived once, gave his life for all of us," said Kirichenko.

Despite heavy losses, Ukraine has continued to fight in the face of escalating Russian attacks.

PHOTO: A Russian Uragan multiple rocket launcher fires towards Ukrainian positions from an undisclosed location in Ukraine, released Nov. 19, 2024. (Russian Defense Ministry Press Service via AP)

With two months left in office, the Biden administration is now helping Ukrainians take their fight directly to the Russians.

The White House has allowed Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems.

"This would be the first time they've been used to target inside Russia, significantly inside Russia," said Dr. Patrick Bury of the University of Bath.

The missiles will be deployed in the Kursk region, where Ukrainian troops are facing Russian and North Korean forces.

"It's limited to Kursk and it's limited, of course, to the amount of missiles that we can get to Ukraine in the near future. So, it is a substantial step, but it might not change the battlefield that much," said Mick Mulroy, a national security and defense analyst.

The Kremlin is warning that deploying long-range missiles is only adding fuel to the fire. Russia's president updated his country's nuclear doctrine today, saying that he has the right to use nuclear weapons if attacked with conventional missiles by a country backed by a nuclear-armed nation.

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