“Joe Biden adds fuel to the fire“, declared the Kremlin this Monday morning. After months of hesitation, the American president authorized Ukraine to use long-range missilesalready received, to strike Russian territory. A significant turnaround in the conflict between the two countries which sparked a reaction in Russia.
For the Kremlin spokesperson, these Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with long-range Western weapons will cause a new cycle of tensions. Dmitri Peskov also took the opportunity to point out that a “Korean situation“, or a freezing of the conflict on the current front lines, was unacceptable for Russia.
A change in the nature of the conflict for Vladimir Putin
The chairman of the defense committee of the Duma, the lower house of the Russian Parliament, Andreï Kartapolov, assures him that the use by the Ukrainians of long-range American weapons “will in no way change the course of the operation, absolutely in no way.” But then how will Russia react to such strikes? A few weeks ago, Vladimir Putin declared that an American green light would mean a change in the nature of the conflict, due to the direct involvement of NATO countries.
Indeed, without the technicians, advisors, officers or satellite images provided by these Western allies to kyiv, the Ukrainians would not be able to carry out these long-range strikes. A situation which made a Russian senator say that it was a “not very important towards the start of World War III.“
UNESCO condemns Russian strikes
While waiting for Ukraine to use the missiles, Russia continues to hit its opponent's territory hard. This Monday morning, the port city of Odessa was hit by Russian strikes, which left at least ten dead and dozens injured, according to local authorities. UNESCO has also condemned these strikes which affected the historic center of the city, classified as a world heritage site in danger. On Sunday evening, the town of Sumy was also targeted in an attack which left 11 dead.
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