Ukraine is urging the UK to allow its forces to strike deep into Russian territory with British and French-made Storm Shadow missiles.
The missiles are long-range, air-launched weapons designed to strike targets with stealth and precision.
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has so far refused to give Ukraine the greenlight to use such weapons to strike targets inside of Russia, but Kyiv is increasing pressure on him to change tack.
This has not gone unnoticed in Moscow, where Russian President Vladimir Putin and many of his key allies have voiced anger at the prospect of Western weapons being used to hit Russian territory.
Earlier this month, Putin said the use of British missiles to strike Russia would “change the nature of the conflict” and risk a direct war between NATO and Moscow.
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He added: “It would mean that NATO countries, the US, and European nations are at war with Russia.”
The Kremlin has also said it is updating its nuclear doctrine in response to what it called an “escalation” from the West.
The current doctrine, established by Putin in 2020, says nuclear weapons can be used in case of a nuclear attack by an enemy or a conventional attack that threatens the existence of the state.
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The war in Ukraine has caused tensions between Russia and the US to escalate, echoing the hostility of the Cold War.
The two countries hold about 88 percent of the world’s nuclear weapons between them, according to the Federation of American Scientists.
Many of Putin’s allies have hinted that Russia could use its nuclear arsenal.
Dmitry Medvedev, former Russian President and now deputy chairman of Russia‘s Security Council, said last week that Kyiv could be turned into a “grey melted spot.”
He added: “What do Western leaders and their political establishments, playing at war, think our country’s reaction to probable missile strikes ‘deep into the territory [of Russia]’ would be?”
Russian state TV host, Vladimir Solovyov, said last week that Russia already has grounds to use nuclear weapons.
He said: “We have a very simple problem. First, they were striking against our eyes that would detect a nuclear strike against Russia. According to our doctrine, this is already a basis to start a nuclear war against them.”