Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a change to Moscow’s nuclear doctrine on Tuesday in response to US President Joe Biden’s decision to lift a ban on Ukraine using US-supplied long-range missiles on targets inside Russia. Russia will now consider an attack with conventional weapons by any country which receives support from a nuclear power to be a joint attack. Ukraine is backed by three nuclear powers: the US, France, and UK.
Is the Kremlin’s bite as strong as its bark? “Throughout the war, Russia has taken actions aimed at avoiding a direct military confrontation with NATO states, and so has NATO against Russia. Rhetoric aside, Moscow’s caution most likely hasn’t changed,” says Alex Brideau, a Russia expert at Eurasia Group.
Will Trump reverse course? President-elect Donald Trump, who’s expressed opposition to continued US aid to Kyiv, wants to quickly end the war in Ukraine and could pump the brakes on Ukrainian long range strikes once in office.
“Trump can roll back the permission or otherwise limit what Ukraine can do with the missiles,” says Brideau. “At the same time, the permission to use the missiles is a leverage point against Russia, to try to push Putin into negotiations. So it is possible Trump could hold onto that card as he tries to get the two sides to the table.”
In this episode of GZERO Europe, Carl Bildt considers what the collapse of the joint French-German-Spanish fighter aircraft project means for European defense.
Think you know what's going on around the world? Here's your chance to prove it.
In this episode of GZERO Europe, Carl Bildt reflects on how Russia's war in Ukraine has lasted longer than World War I and the role an underachieving military campaign and international politics have played in putting pressure on Putin.
The ECB raised interest rates for the first time since 2023, becoming the first G7 central bank to act against inflation driven by the war in Iran. With the Bank of Japan poised to follow suit, pressure mounts on the US Federal Reserve to respond.