The Kremlin announced on Wednesday that a special hotline, established in 1963 to reduce tensions during the Cuban Missile Crisis, is not currently in use amid rising nuclear risks. The hotline was designed to provide direct communication between the U.S. and Russian leaders, but Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov confirmed that it is not being used at present. This comes at a time of escalating tensions between Russia and the West, with nuclear risks reaching their highest levels in decades.
On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike in response to a wider range of conventional attacks, following reports that the U.S. had approved Ukraine’s use of American-made ATACMS missiles to strike deep into Russian territory. These missiles, the longest-range weapons the U.S. has provided to Ukraine, were used by Ukraine on the 1,000th day of the war.
Moscow views the use of ATACMS as a clear signal that the West intends to escalate the conflict. Russia claims that such weapons, requiring direct U.S. support for their operation, make Washington a direct combatant in the war and could lead to Russian retaliation. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy had long advocated for long-range weapons to target Russia’s military infrastructure.
Russian diplomats warn that the current crisis between Moscow and Washington is comparable to the Cuban Missile Crisis, urging the West to reconsider its stance on Ukraine, as Russia will not back down.
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