Ukraine used British long-range Storm Shadow missiles against Russian territory for the first time, after obtaining permission from London, media reported on Wednesday. This comes the day after the similar launch of American ATACMS missiles.
kyiv had long demanded authorization to use these weapons but the West feared the reaction from Moscow, which presented this as a red line.
Several Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of more than 250 km, were launched on at least one Russian military target, reports the Financial Times, citing three anonymous sources including a Western official informed of the strike.
The United Kingdom gave the green light to the use of these missiles against Russian territory in response to the deployment of North Korean troops to help the Russian army, according to the daily The Guardian. Neither kyiv nor London have yet confirmed this information.
On Tuesday, Ukraine used American ATACMS missiles for the first time, with a range of 300 km, against a military installation in the Russian region of Bryansk.
Several Western countries supplied long-range missiles to Ukraine but did not authorize their use on Russian territory.
American President Joe Biden, who will hand over in January to a Donald Trump much less inclined to help Ukraine financially, has finally given the green light to their use in Russia, Washington announced on Sunday.
Russia has increased its warnings against Ukraine and the West in recent days, in response to the green light given by the United States to kyiv to strike Russian soil with the long-range missiles delivered to it.
Mines
Joe Biden’s administration also announced on Wednesday its intention to supply Ukraine with antipersonnel mines, a type of weapon widely criticized for the number of civilian victims it causes, including long after the end of conflicts.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, however, assured that these mines were “very important” to stop the advance of Moscow’s soldiers.
According to Washington, the mines supplied to Ukraine will be “non-persistent”, that is to say equipped with a self-destruction or self-deactivation device.
An anti-mine organization, the ICBL, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, condemned a “disastrous decision by the United States” and called on Ukraine to refuse to use this type of weapon.
“Prolongation of the war”
The Russian army continues to advance in the east and on Wednesday claimed the capture of a new town near the town of Kurakhové.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov accused the United States of being “fully committed to prolonging the war in Ukraine.”
Russia has also again issued nuclear warnings in recent days, while accusing the West of “wanting escalation”.
According to its new doctrine on the use of nuclear weapons, made official on Tuesday, Russia can now use them in the event of a “massive” attack by a non-nuclear country but supported by a nuclear power, a clear reference to Ukraine and in the United States.
This change “de facto excludes the possibility of defeating the Russian armed forces on the battlefield”, stressed the head of Russian foreign intelligence, Sergei Naryshkin, on Wednesday, suggesting that Russia would resort to the atomic bomb rather than risk defeat. in a conventional war.
Call from Xi
Washington, Paris, London and the European Union denounced an “irresponsible” attitude, while kyiv urged its allies “not to give in to fear”.
Chinese President Xi Jinping, on a state visit to Brazil, called for “bringing together more voices committed to peace in order to pave the way for a political solution” to the conflict, after meeting his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the official Xinhua news agency reported.
Moscow’s crucial partner, China, is accused of participating in the Russian military effort.
At the same time, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico urged “all parties involved to respect their international commitments and prioritize dialogue and the search for peace”, as well as to “avoid actions that result in a arms race”, according to a joint press release.
Closure of embassies
Ukraine was annoyed on Wednesday by the temporary closure of Western embassies which feared Russian bombings, stressing that the threat had been “daily” since the start of the invasion in February 2022.
At least five Western embassies, those of the United States, Spain, Italy, Hungary and Greece, have announced that they will temporarily close for the day on Wednesday.
This follows a warning from the US embassy, which warned of a “possible significant air attack” on Ukraine.
Ukrainian diplomacy denied that the risk was higher on Wednesday, adding that the threat of strikes was “a daily reality for Ukrainians”.
For Volodymyr Zelensky, the spread of this type of information only “helps Russia”. He too said the threat remains the same: Russia is “just as crazy” today as it was on the first day of the invasion.
Almost daily strikes
Drone and missile strikes, sometimes massive, have been almost daily in kyiv for weeks and have been very regular since the start of the conflict almost three years ago.
Anti-aircraft alerts sounded several times in the capital during the night and day and drones were shot down. No casualties have been recorded.
A Russian strike against a village in eastern Ukraine, near Kramatorsk, however, killed an 11-year-old boy on Wednesday and injured his sister and grandfather, according to the regional prosecutor’s office.
This article was automatically published. Sources: ats / afp
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