Putin updates 'nuclear doctrine' after US authorizes ATACMS strikes on Russia. Ukraine reacts

The head of the Verkhovna Rada foreign affairs committee, Oleksandr Merezhko, has responded to Russia's updated "nuclear doctrine," stating that it holds no legal significance and is merely a part of Russian propaganda and blackmail. This comes shortly after the United States. granted Ukraine permission to use long-range ATACMS missiles for strikes on Russian territory.

Merezhko told LIGA.net that the doctrine, which allegedly allows for the use of nuclear weapons in response to conventional missile launches that could threaten Russia, has no legal basis. He argued that Ukraine and other countries assisting it are acting within the norms and principles of international law, specifically the right to self-defense as outlined in Article 51 of the UN Charter.

He noted that the territory of the aggressor state is part of the theater of military operations, and international law does not restrict Ukraine or countries supplying it with weapons from using this weaponry on Russian territory.

Illogically and unethically, the aggressor has no restrictions on the use of weapons, while the victim of aggression faces certain restrictions, he added.

"Iran and North Korea, when supplying weapons to Russia, do not set any restrictions. China, when helping Russia, also does not set any restrictions," he lamented.

On November 17, 2024, The New York Times reported that President Joe Biden had allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles against Russia.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded to similar media reports on the same day, stating that long-range strikes are not announced in advance and that the missiles will "speak for themselves."

The Chinese leader, Xi Jinping, after the approval of ATACMS strikes on Russia, called on the G20 to "cool down" the war in Ukraine.