The Kremlin on Monday accused US President Joe Biden of escalating the 1,000-day-old war in Ukraine, and promised a “clear” response to any use of US long-range missiles by Ukraine to attack targets inside Russia. .
Biden, who handed the White House to Donald Trump in January who was skeptical of US support for Ukraine, called on Russia’s foreign minister at the G20 summit to voice support for Ukraine’s sovereignty.
G20 leaders said on Monday they welcomed “constructive initiatives” for a “comprehensive, just and durable peace” in Ukraine.
The long-range weapons dispute flared up after Moscow launched a second missile attack in two days on the Ukrainian Black Sea city of Odessa, killing 10 and wounding 55, officials said.
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said the US decision to allow the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) could be a “game changer”.
Kiev has long sought authorization to use ATACMS against military targets inside Russia as its troops face the most intense pressure since Russia launched its offensive in February 2022.
Russian aerial bombardment has destroyed entire districts near the front line and destroyed energy facilities throughout Ukraine.
“The longer Ukraine can attack, the shorter the war will be,” Sybiga told reporters ahead of a U.N. Security Council meeting marking the 1,000th anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion.
“This can have a very positive impact on the battlefield situation,” he said.
But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, “It is clear that the outgoing administration in Washington intends … to stoke the fire and further escalate tensions.”
Speaking at the G20 summit in Brazil, Biden said: “The United States strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. I think everyone else at this table should do the same.”
A US official told AFP the major policy change on the missiles was in response to Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to its campaign.
‘Tactible’ Russian reaction
Peskov said President Vladimir Putin clearly expressed Moscow’s position in September when he announced that the use of the missiles would put NATO “at war” with Russia.
Putin then said that if Ukraine attacked Russia with long-range missiles, Moscow would “take appropriate decisions” – a point reiterated by the Foreign Ministry on Monday.
“The use of long-range missiles by Kiev to attack our territory will represent the direct involvement of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia,” the ministry said in a statement.
Washington’s decision comes amid growing concerns over reports that North Korea has deployed more than 10,000 troops to Russia to send to fight against Ukraine.
US Principal Deputy National Security Adviser John Finer said Washington had made clear it would prepare a response to the Kremlin’s decision to deploy “troops from a foreign country” to Russia.
Zelensky visited the front line
Russia, which has made rapid gains in Donetsk in recent weeks, claims to have captured another village in the eastern region.
The Donetsk regional governor said three people were killed and two others were wounded in the Russian attacks in the cities of Siversk and Kostyantnivka.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he visited two key border cities – Pokrovsk and Kupyansk.
Pokrovsk, a key Ukrainian garrison town in the Donetsk region, is being targeted by Russian forces, while Russian forces entered Kupyansk briefly last week and remain close to the outskirts.
“This is a tense region,” Zelensky said in Pokrovsk, thanking Ukrainian forces for ensuring that the wider Donbass region “was not completely captured by Russia”.
Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use US missiles to strike inside Russia could also prompt European allies to review their stances. British Prime Minister Keir Starmer refused to attend the G20 on the issue.
Speaking on the sidelines of the summit, French President Emmanuel Macron called the decision an “absolutely good” move.
However, a senior Ukrainian presidential official expressed frustration at the time it took to obtain approval, saying the decision “was needed a year ago”.
Meanwhile, the international chemical weapons watchdog said it found banned CS riot gas in shale and soil samples provided by Ukraine from the conflict zone.
The presence of the gas violated a convention on the use of poisonous weapons.
Russia and Ukraine have accused each other of using chemical weapons, while Britain and the US have also accused Moscow of using banned toxic agents against Ukrainian troops.
Ukrainian engineers were still repairing facilities damaged by the Russian missile and drone barrage the day before.
Prime Minister Denis Shmygal said that about 220,000 consumers in the Odessa and Dnipropetrovsk regions were without electricity.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
