Russian spy chief says NATO aid for Ukraine missile strikes will be punished

20/11/2024 17:09

        Russia will retaliate against NATO countries that facilitate long-range missile strikes against Russian territory by Ukraine, foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said in an interview published on Wednesday.
        
        Naryshkin said changes announced by President Vladimir Putin to Russia's nuclear doctrine meant it was in effect impossible to defeat Russia on the battlefield.
        
        "Our enemies are forced to admit that the determination of the Russian president to firmly defend the country's fundamental interests by all available means narrows the room for manoeuvre for Washington and Brussels," he told the magazine National Defence.
        
        Ukraine used U.S. ATACMS missiles to strike Russian territory on Tuesday, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on the 1,000th day of the war in Ukraine.
        
        On the same day, Putin approved a policy document that lowers the threshold for Russia to use nuclear weapons in response to attacks by an enemy using conventional weapons.