Ukraine War: 1,000 days of war – Ukraine uses US weapons

Kiev/Moscow – After 1,000 days of the Russian war of aggression, Ukraine fired on Russian territory for the first time with long-range US weapons. The Defense Ministry in Moscow announced that six US-made ATACMS missiles had been fired at the Bryansk border area. The General Staff in Kiev confirmed a night attack on a Russian ammunition depot near the city of Karachev.

For the people of Ukraine, the sad milestone of 1,000 days meant further war suffering. In the small town of Hlukhiv in the northeast of the country, a Russian combat drone hit a multi-story residential building, killing at least twelve people. According to authorities, additional victims were suspected to be under the rubble. President Volodymyr Zelenskyj presented a plan to parliament in Kiev on how his country can better withstand Russian pressure.

Russian leader Vladimir Putin implemented a new nuclear doctrine 1,000 days after ordering the attack. In the deep conflict with the West, he listed several new threat scenarios in which Russia could resort to nuclear weapons. They are intended to prevent Western countries from supporting Ukraine.

ATACMS strike against Russian ammunition depot

According to media reports, the USA recently allowed Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles with a range of up to 300 kilometers against targets in Russia. This is seen as a response to Moscow’s suspected use of North Korean soldiers. Russia, in turn, sees the US weapons as an escalation and an involvement of the US and other Western states in the war.

The Moscow Defense Ministry said Russian air defense intercepted five of the six missiles. Debris from the damaged sixth rocket fell on a military site in the Bryansk region. “There are no casualties or destruction,” it said.

In contrast, the General Staff in Kiev announced that twelve subsequent explosions had been observed in the depot. This refers to the detonation of ammunition stored there after an impact.

Scholz and Pistorius remain “no” to the Taurus

With the release of the ATACMS by the USA, the discussion flared up again as to whether Germany should supply the Taurus cruise missile with a range of up to 500 kilometers. However, Chancellor Olaf Scholz rejects this, and Defense Minister Boris Pistorius (both SPD) supported the Chancellor on this issue. “Nothing has changed in the position of the federal government as a whole,” he said in Brussels. It is legitimate that the USA has changed its line on the use of long-range weapons. “At Taurus we are talking about a system that is still significantly different from all others that are used in Ukraine.”

New Russian nuclear doctrine against Ukraine and NATO

What is new about the Russian nuclear doctrine is that Moscow sees the aggression of a non-nuclear state that is supported by nuclear powers as a joint attack on Russia. This is directed against the fact that Ukraine is supported militarily by the nuclear powers USA, Great Britain and France. Nuclear deterrence therefore also applies in the event that potentially hostile military alliances form, expand or move closer to Russia with their infrastructure. This is directed against Ukraine’s desire to become a member of NATO.

The new doctrine replaces the 2020 version and has been published on the Kremlin website. Putin has made threats to use nuclear weapons several times during the two and a half years of war. The tightening of nuclear doctrine that has been announced for months can also be understood as a threatening gesture.

Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock was unimpressed by the changed nuclear weapons doctrine. Putin is playing on fear, and this has become clear again and again since the start of the Ukraine war, said the Green Party politician in Warsaw. “We won’t allow ourselves to be intimidated, no matter what new things are being trumpeted.”

Zelenskyj: Ukraine relies on its own armaments

In Kiev, President Zelensky presented a plan to increase the country’s resilience. “Even without nuclear weapons, we can find conventional instruments to contain (Russia),” the head of state told MPs and the assembled country leadership. To achieve this, investments are being made in our own arms industry.

Zelenskyj once again rejected any cessions of territory to Russia. “We are not giving up Ukraine’s rights to its territory,” he said. At the same time, however, he left room for Ukrainian areas to temporarily not be under Kiev’s control.

In the 1,000-day-old war, counting since February 24, 2022, tens of thousands of soldiers have died on both sides. Exact numbers are not known. There is no end in sight. The Ukrainian army is under pressure. Western supporters disagree on their strategy, even though EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X: “Europe stands with Ukraine. Every day of the war.” It is unclear how future US President Donald Trump will deal with the conflict.