Russia says Ukraine attacked it using U.S.-made missiles, signals it’s ready for nuclear response

Moscow signaled to the West that it’s ready for a nuclear confrontation after Ukraine was given permission to attack Russian territory — and appeared to quickly act on that greenlight — using U.S.-made long-range missiles.

Kyiv appeared to waste little time after reportedly being given the go-ahead by Washington Sunday to use U.S.-made ATACMS missiles against specific targets. Ukrainian news outlets reported early Tuesday that the missiles had been used to attack a Russian military facility in the Bryansk border region.

Russia then confirmed the attack, with the Ministry of Defense confirming that Ukrainian forces had “struck a facility in [the] Bryansk region” using six ballistic, American-made ATACMS missiles. The ministry claimed air defense missile systems had shot down five of the missiles, and damaged another.

“Its fragments fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk region, causing a fire that was quickly extinguished. There were no casualties or damage,” the ministry said.

CNBC was unable to independently verify the reports and Ukraine’s leadership has not commented on the attack.

The Kyiv Post news outlet cited a national security official as confirming the strike in Bryansk had been carried out, although he did not indicate which weapons had been used.

The Kremlin has repeatedly warned the West against allowing Ukraine to use its long-range weapons to attack Russia directly. On Tuesday, Moscow upped the ante as Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree approving its updated nuclear doctrine that shifts the parameters on when Russia can use nuclear weapons.

The updated document, outlining the conditions in which Russia can use nuclear weapons, now states that any aggression against Russia by a non-nuclear state, if it’s supported by a nuclear power, will be considered as a joint attack.