Just 48 hours after Joe Biden lifted the ban on their use, the American-made ATACMS missiles flew to the 1046 logistics center, specifically the Karachev arsenal in the Russian Briansk oblast, an ammunition depot that supplies the Russian effort in the disputed territory of Kursk. Vladimir Putin's red line, one of many drawn by the Kremlin autocrat, was crossed by the Kiev military.
This Tuesday, Vladimir Putin signed the new Russian nuclear doctrine allowing a response to a conventional weapons attack on its territory with atomic weapons, although Russia's next move remains unknown.
Moscow acknowledges that these missiles (six in total) were launched from the Ukrainian side, but claim no damage was caused. As usual, videos posted by the neighbors of the arsenal, showing a large fireball, contradict the Kremlin's official version. It is not the only projectile launched, and gradually, through satellite images, it will be known if others have hit their targets.
The Russian Foreign Minister promised shortly after an "appropriate" response to the Ukrainian launch of American missiles, denounced Washington's involvement in these attacks, and announced a "new phase" in the conflict.
"If long-range missiles are used from Ukraine towards Russian territory, it means they are operated by American military experts. We will consider this as a new phase of the Western war against Russia and respond accordingly," said Sergey Lavrov to the press in Rio de Janeiro after the G20 summit.
The Russian Foreign Minister reiterated a point made by Putin himself: "Ukrainians cannot fire ATACMS without the help of American experts and instructors" who provide "satellite data, programming, and guidance." Lavrov stated that the use of ATACMS to attack Russian soil was "a signal" that Ukraine and the West "seek escalation."
As Ukraine has admitted more than once, the Pentagon identifies Russian targets using satellites, while American personnel on the ground collect coordinates and transmit them to Kiev, who then input the data and execute the launch, similar to how the British collaborate with Ukrainian troops to launch Storm Shadow missiles.
In reality, this type of launch is not much different from what Russia itself uses. In their case, Moscow has acquired hundreds of KN-23 projectiles from Pyongyang, whose launchers and specialists traveled to Russia and Ukrainian areas occupied by Russia to advise Russian troops on the use of these military devices.
Can the use of these missiles trigger a nuclear war? According to most nuclear weapons experts, atomic escalation has its own guidelines and should involve, long before any attack launch in Ukraine, movements within the arsenals themselves, which already violate several international treaties, and even a nuclear test in an uninhabited location.