Peskov called Ukraine a tool of the West to defeat Russia

The West continues to use Ukraine as a tool to inflict a strategic defeat on Russia. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this on November 20.

"Western politicians continue their line to inflict a strategic defeat on our country, and, of course, they use Ukraine as a tool in their hands to achieve these goals," Peskov said in an interview with RIA Novosti, commenting on the authorization of strikes on Russian territory with long-range weapons.

On November 17, The New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden allegedly authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia, but there has been no official confirmation of this information yet.

Later, on November 19, the Russian Defense Ministry said that calculations of S-400 air defense missile systems (SAMs) and Pantsir air defense missile and cannon systems (SAMs) shot down five ATACMS missiles fired by the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Bryansk region and damaged another one. The wreckage of the latter fell on the territory of a military facility, which started a fire, but it was promptly extinguished. There were no casualties or damage.

After that, Russian President Vladimir Putin approved an updated Russian nuclear doctrine . Among the grounds for the use of such weapons by Russia in the document is a response to the use of nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction against the country and its allies. In addition, Russia may launch a nuclear strike if an attack threatening territorial integrity is launched against it or Belarus.

In turn, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, responding to Izvestia's question, said that the strike carried out by the AFU with ATACMS missiles is a signal that the West wants to escalate the conflict.

Speaking to Izvestia, retired American Lieutenant Colonel Earl Rasmussen called the strike another provocation and an attempt by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, whose term of office expired on May 20, to please Western sponsors.

Volodymyr Zelensky, for his part, said at a joint press conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen that he intends to use US ATACMS missiles in combat operations. According to The Times, the AFU has about 50 such missiles at its disposal. It is specified that these missiles remain in short supply due to limited supplies.

The AFU is trying to strike Russian territories against the background of the special operation in Donbass, the start of which was announced on February 24, 2022. The decision was taken due to the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.