US slams Russia’s ‘irresponsible rhetoric’ after Vladimir Putin eases guidelines for nuclear strikes

Putin’s transfer got here after Washington allowed Ukraine to fireplace long-range US-made missiles into Russian territory, with Moscow saying Kyiv had used the weapons for the primary time on Tuesday.

“That is extra of the identical irresponsible rhetoric from Russia, which we’ve got seen for the previous two years,” a spokesperson for the US Nationwide Safety Council instructed AFP.

The spokesperson mentioned that “we weren’t stunned by Russia’s announcement that it could replace its nuclear doctrine” and that Moscow had been “signaling its intent” to take action for a number of weeks.

“Observing no modifications to Russia’s nuclear posture, we’ve got not seen any purpose to regulate our personal nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements right now.”

US officers have beforehand confirmed that outgoing President Joe Biden, who’s attending a G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, gave the inexperienced gentle for ally Kyiv to make use of long-range missiles in opposition to Russia.

Whereas the White Home has not achieved so on the document, it has hinted that the transfer is a response to Russia’s use of North Korean troopers in opposition to Ukraine.

The deployment of Pyongyang’s troops is a “vital escalation… and we warned that the USA would reply. I will not get into the main points of that response right now,” the Nationwide Safety Council spokesperson mentioned.

The US response got here as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused G20 leaders of failing to behave after Putin’s nuclear rule change.

Ukraine is anxiously watching to see whether or not US President-elect Donald Trump will swap off American navy help and attempt to push by means of a peace deal that would drive Kyiv to cede territory to Moscow.