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Good morning.

At the beginning of each week we publish an overview of the most important events in the conflict over the past seven days.

Last week, Vladimir Putin escalated his nuclear threats when Ukraine was allowed to attack Russian territory with long-range missiles supplied by the West.

This is what you need to know…

Ukraine carries out long-range attacks

Kiev’s armed forces fired US long-range ATACMS missiles at Russian targets, a day after Joe Biden’s decision to authorize the use of the weapons to strike inside Russia.

A US official said the rockets struck an ammunition stockpile site in the Bryansk border area last Tuesday.

The Ukrainian military confirmed later that week that it had used British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles in a new attack on Russian territory, calling the attack “very successful”.

In a sit-down interview with Sky News’ Mark Austin, Moscow’s British ambassador, Andrei Kelin, said the use of Storm Shadow across the border meant Britain and the US were “directly involved” in the war.

In response to Biden’s policy change, Vladimir Putin took steps to adopt an updated nuclear doctrine that lowered the bar for a nuclear attack by Moscow.

The Kremlin has warned that Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles against Russia could trigger a nuclear response.

Biden also agreed last week in a separate decision to give Ukraine anti-personnel landmines.

Putin tests new powerful missile in Ukraine

Putin has said Russia will begin mass production of a new hypersonic, non-nuclear ballistic missile it fired into Ukraine on Thursday.

In a televised address, the Russian leader said the ‘Oreshnik’ missile had been used in an attack on the Ukrainian city of Dnipro in response to US and British weapons used by Ukraine to attack deep into Russia.

He said Moscow would produce them on a large scale, while acknowledging that other countries could get their hands on them “sooner or later.”

The technology is not only causing destruction in Ukraine, but also sending the message that, chillingly, Western Europe is also well within reach, said our international correspondent Alex Rossi.

You can read his analysis here:

Moscow is ‘advancing’ in the east – while Ukraine is losing Russian territory

On the battlefield, Russian troops have “accelerated” their advance in eastern Ukraine, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said.

He did not provide details, but Kiev’s General Staff said the Kurakhove region is the most threatening to Ukrainian forces, as Russian troops are advancing at a speed of 200 to 300 meters per day and even managing to break through in some areas .

The industrial city of Kurakhove is seen as a stepping stone to the main city of Pokrovsk, whose capture would allow Moscow to seriously disrupt Ukrainian supply lines along the Eastern Front.

It is believed that there are now around 575,000 Russian troops fighting in Ukraine.

It comes as Ukrainian forces lose more territory they captured in a surprise invasion of Russia’s Kursk border region over the summer.

A senior Ukrainian military source told Reuters that Kiev had lost more than 40% of the territory it captured in August as Russian forces launched waves of counterattacks.

“We will hold this area as long as it is militarily appropriate,” the source said.

Embassies close due to ‘threat of attack’

The US and several other Western embassies in Kiev were closed on Wednesday amid fears that Russia was preparing a major airstrike on the Ukrainian capital.

The US delegation said it had received a “specific” warning of a possible “major” airstrike on November 20.

Senior military sources say they are concerned about a noticeable increase in airstrikes on Kiev.

Russia launched a major drone attack on the Ukrainian capital on Sunday night, with Volodymyr Zelenskyy warning it showed the city needed better air defense.

Ukraine said its air defense units shot down 50 of 73 Russian drones launched, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries.