Russia says it’s ‘adjusting’ nuclear weapons doctrine, Ukraine says it tested 1st ballistic missile

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Ukraine’s demands to the West to allow it to strike deep into Russia with Western weapons amounted to blackmail. “This is blackmail. It is an attempt to pretend that the West wants to avoid excessive escalation. But in truth it is not so. The West does not want to avoid escalation, the West — how we say in Russia — is looking for trouble,” Lavrov said. Lavrov also said that Russia was “adjusting” its nuclear weapons doctrine, and that it was dangerous for Western nuclear powers to be “playing with fire.” Meanwhile, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Tuesday that his aim is to end the war with Russia on fair terms for Ukraine, but that Kyiv had to be in a strong position and that he would present a plan to U.S. President Joe Biden and his two potential successors. Zelenskyy also noted that Ukraine’s defence industry had successfully tested its first ballistic missile, but said he could not say anymore about it.