Putin ratchets up nuclear threat after Ukraine fires US-supplied missiles at Russia

KYIV, Ukraine — Moscow said Tuesday that Ukraine had fired US-supplied long-range missiles into its territory for the first time since Washington authorized such strikes, as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree broadening the justification for using nuclear weapons.

With neither side showing any sign of relenting, Putin officially authorized the use of nuclear weapons in the case of a conventional attack by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power.

Putin signed the decree shortly before Moscow confirmed that Ukraine had fired six US-made ATACMS missiles early Tuesday at a military facility in Russia’s Bryansk region that borders Ukraine. It said air defenses shot down five of them and damaged one more.  (Read More)