Russia says U.S. missile decision could raise the stakes in Ukraine war
Global News
Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with U.S.-made weaponry, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Sunday.
President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with U.S.-supplied long-range missiles was met with ominous warnings from Moscow, a hint of menace from Kyiv and nods of approval from some Western allies.
Biden’s shift in policy added an uncertain but potentially crucial new factor to the war on the eve of its 1,000-day milestone.
News of Biden’s change came on the day a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy, a city in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others.
On Monday, another Russian missile attack started fires in two apartment blocks in Odesa, in southern Ukraine. At least eight people were killed and 18 were injured, including a child, regional Gov. Oleh Kiper said.
Washington is easing limits on what Ukraine can strike with U.S.-made weaponry, U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Sunday, after months of ruling out such a move over fears of escalating the conflict and bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.
The scope of the new firing guidelines isn’t clear. But the change came after the U.S., South Korea and NATO said recently that North Korean troops are in Russia and apparently are being deployed to help the Russian army drive Ukrainian troops out of Russia’s Kursk border region.
Russia is also slowly pushing Ukraine’s outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region. It has also conducted a devastating and deadly aerial campaign against civilian areas in Ukraine.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Monday referred journalists to a statement made by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September, in which he said allowing Ukraine to target Russia would significantly raise the stakes in the conflict.
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