• But any decision to open fire would only be taken at the 'highest level'

The first few words of the headline i.e. "open fire" were a bit spicy, not gonna lie. But this seems to be Russia just standing their ground in case there is interference from other parties. I doubt that this is a new development but good to know. In any case, the wording in the headline itself may cause a bit of jitters to ripple so just be wary.