On Tuesday, November 26, Putin affirmed that the possibilities of resorting to nuclear weapons were expanded.
For the first time since the beginning of Ukraine’s war, Biden authorized Ukraine to strike inside Russia with US weapons. Two days later, Russia was targeted by long-range missiles. Until now, Biden had refused to allow Ukraine to use these missiles on Russian territory. President Biden believed the missiles would not significantly impact the battlefield and was concerned about a potential violent response from Russia.
Putin recently signed a decree revising Russia’s nuclear doctrine, which he elaborated in an interview in September. Putin’s spokesperson explained that the new doctrine’s language is that Russia reserves the right to use nuclear weapons in response to attacks from Ukraine. Putin has also warned the United States that permitting Ukraine to use American missiles would effectively involve the U.S. in the war.
On Thursday, the 28th, Russia’s president responded to Ukraine’s attack by sending 90 missiles and deployed 100 drones on Ukraine’s power infrastructure, leaving over 700,000 homes and businesses in the dark. With the first snowfall of winter, President Zelensky expressed concerns about more attacks on the country’s energy system. He stated that such attacks had occured at least ten times since the war began. Temperatures are slowly dropping and the population faces more hardship.
“It was a response to continued attacks on our territory by ATACMS missiles,” Putin affirmed.
After Trump’s election , Ukraine could lose its most crucial ally in the war, the United States. Donald Trump has expressed admiration for Vladimir Putin and claimed that Ukraine’s president started the war. Trump said he could end the war in 24 hours, even though he has not presented a clear plan.
This has made people concerned about what he will do. Many people in Ukraine fear that Trump will pressure the country to give up territory to Russia as part of a deal to end the war. A Ukrainian soldier shared his perspective.
“The reality is, we simply don’t know what will happen. Trump is unpredictable,” Sviezhentsev told NPR by text message. “Whatever Trump does, we have no other choice but to fight the enemy.”
