Is Nato 'at war' with Russia now?

Russia is fuming after US President Joe Biden reportedly authorised Ukraine to use long-range US weapons for strikes inside Russia.

A senior Russian lawmaker said that Biden’s decision could lead to such a response that Ukraine would be annihilated.

“The west has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning,” said Andrei Klishas, a senior member of Russian parliament’s upper house.

Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the upper house’s international affairs committee, dubbed the decision “a very big step towards the start of World War III”, according to state-run TASS news agency.

For months, Ukraine had sought permission from Biden to use US long-range weapons inside Russia, but the permission was not granted over concerns of any escalation. Now, in the final weeks of his terms, Biden has finally given his go-ahead at a time Russia has roped in North Korea as well into the war.

The decision came in response to North Korea’s entry into the war on Ukraine, US officials told The New York Times.

The newspaper had previously reported that a force of around 50,000 personnel, including up to 10,000 North Korean troops, has mounted a counter-offensive against Ukraine in Russia’s Kursk region to retake territories captured by Ukraine in a stunning incursion earlier this year.

Throughout this year, as the debate swirled around Ukraine’s usage of Western weapons deep inside Russia, Kremlin had dubbed such a permission as a red line. In September, Russian President Vladimir Putin had said that an act would amount to an all-out war.

Russia will be at war with NATO, warned Putin

Russian leader Putin said earlier this year that the usage of Western weapons deep inside Russia would change the fundamental dynamics of the war.

Putin said that such a situation would mean a direct war between Russia and the Western alliance Nato .

“This will mean that Nato countries –the United States and European countries– are at war with Russia and, if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us,” said Putin in September.

European leaders had, however, pressed Biden for several weeks for such a permission. Putin’s above-mentioned remarks came after British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer visited Washington DC to meet Biden to discuss the Russian war on Ukraine , including the issue of permission for deeper strikes.

The British and French governments were on board with the idea and wanted Biden on board as well before giving Ukraine the go-ahead to use British and French weapons for deeper strikes inside Russia.

Since February 2022 when Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine, he and his officials have constantly warned the West of dire consequences for ramping up support to Ukraine, including threatening the use of nuclear weapons.

New Russian doctrine now allows for nuclear attack on West

Weeks after Putin announced that Russia would be at war with Nato if deeper strikes were permitted, he announced the change of Russian nuclear weapons doctrine.

The new doctrine that Putin outlined significantly reduced the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.

Under the new nuclear doctrine , Russia would consider a conventional attack on Russia aided by a nuclear-armed state as a joint attack, which would make such an act eligible for retaliation by nuclear weapons, said Putin.

As per the new doctrine, Russia could retaliate with nuclear weapons even in case of a conventional attack if the attack posed a “critical threat to our sovereignty”, said Putin.

Under the previous doctrine, only a nuclear attack was eligible for nuclear retaliation by Russia.

“It is proposed that aggression against Russia by any nonnuclear state, but with the participation or support of a nuclear state, be considered as their joint attack on the Russian Federation…The conditions for Russia’s transition to the use of nuclear weapons are also clearly fixed,” said Putin, according to Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.

Outlining the new doctrine further, Putin said that Russia would consider a nuclear retaliation if it were convinced that a mass cross-border attack by air from strategic and tactical aviation, cruise missiles, drones, and hypersonic weapons is being launched at Russia, said Putin.

Under such a doctrine, Ukraine’s strikes deep inside Russia using US weapons would be eligible for retaliation by nuclear weapons.

Among Nato members, the United States, United Kingdom, and France are nuclear-armed states and all of them have supplied long-range weapons to Ukraine.

Now that Biden has reportedly allowed Ukraine to use long-range weapons inside Russia, France and UK are also expected to issue permissions.

It remains to be seen whether Biden has now called out Putin’s bluff or whether a direct confrontation with Russia is on the cards.