Getty ImagesThe stakes have never been higher in the Ukraine-Russia war. In the week that saw the conflict pass its 1000th day, Western powers substantially boosted Ukraine’s military arsenal – and the Kremlin made its loudest threats yet of a nuclear strike.Here is how the last week played out – and what it means.The West bolsters UkraineLate on Sunday night, reports emerged that outgoing US President Joe Biden had given Ukraine permission to use longer-range ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia.The move marked a major policy change by Washington – which for months had refused Ukraine’s requests to use the missiles beyond its own borders.After the decision was leaked to the press, a volley of ATACMS missiles were fired by Ukraine into Russia’s Bryansk region.The Kremlin said six were fired, with five intercepted, while anonymous US officials claimed it was eight, with two intercepted.Whatever the specifics, this was a landmark moment: American-made missiles had struck Russian soil for the first time in this war.Then on Wednesday, Ukraine launched UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles at targets in Russia’s Kursk region – where Ukrainian troops have seized a roughly 600-sq km (232 sq mile) patch of Russian territory.Later in the week, Biden added the final element of a ramped-up weapons arsenal to Ukraine by approving the use of anti-personnel landmines.Simple, controversial, but highly-effective, landmines are a crucial part of Ukraine’s defences on the eastern frontline – and it is hoped their use could help slow Russia’s advance. With three swift decisions, over a few seismic days, the West signalled to the world that its support for Ukraine was not about to vanish.Russia raises nuclear stakesIf Ukraine’s western allies raised the stakes this week – so too did Moscow.On Tuesday, the 1000th day of the war, Putin pushed through changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, lowering the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons.The doctrine now says an attack from a non-nuclear state, if backed by a nuclear power, will be treated as a joint assault on Russia.The Kremlin then took its response a step further by deploying a new type of missile – “Oreshnik” – to strike the Ukrainian city of Dnipro.Putin claimed it travelled at 10 times the speed of sound – and that there are “no ways of counteracting this weapon”.Most observers agree the strike was designed to send a warning: that Russia could, if it chose, use the new missile to deliver a nuclear weapon.Getty ImagesSuch posturing would once have caused serious concern in the West. Now, not so much. Since the start of the conflict nearly three years ago, Putin has repeatedly laid out nuclear “red lines’” which the West has repeatedly crossed. It seems many have become used to Russia’s nuclear “sabre-rattling”.And why else do Western leaders feel ready to gamble with Russia’s nuclear threats? China.Beijing has become a vital partner for Moscow in its efforts to soften the impact of sanctions imposed by the US and other countries.China, the West believes, would react with horror at the use of nuclear weapons – thus discouraging Putin from making true on his threats. A global conflict?In a rare televised address on Thursday evening, the Russian president warned that the war had “acquired elements of a global character”.That assessment was echoed by Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who said “the threat is serious and real when it comes to global conflict”. The US and UK are now more deeply involved than ever – while the deployment of North Korean troops to fight alongside Russia saw another nuclear power enter the war.North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said on Thursday that “never before” has the threat of a nuclear war been greater, blaming the US for its “aggressive and hostile” p …
