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Kremlin Condemns Biden’s Approval of Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine

The Kremlin issued a stern warning on Monday regarding President Joe Biden’s decision to permit Ukraine to strike targets within Russia using US-supplied long-range missiles. This move, they cautioned, would exacerbate the ongoing conflict and further heighten international tensions.

Biden’s policy shift introduces a new and unpredictable element into the conflict just as it approaches the 1,000-day mark since Russia’s full-scale invasion began in 2022.

The decision coincided with a tragic incident in Sumy, northern Ukraine, where a Russian ballistic missile equipped with cluster munitions hit a residential area, resulting in 11 deaths and 84 injuries. Additionally, a missile attack in Odesa ignited apartment fires, killing at least 10 and injuring 43, according to Ukraine’s Interior Ministry.

US officials revealed on Sunday that Washington is loosening restrictions on what Ukraine can target using the American-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS). This comes after months of hesitation due to concerns about escalating the conflict and provoking a direct confrontation between Russia and NATO.

The Kremlin’s response was swift and critical. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov stated, “It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict.”

While the full extent of the new targeting guidelines remains unclear, the change follows reports that North Korean troops are in Russia, ostensibly to assist Moscow in repelling Ukrainian forces from the Kursk border region.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, indicated that Biden’s decision was primarily driven by North Korea’s involvement and was finalised just before he departed for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

In the eastern Donetsk region, Russia continues to push back Ukraine’s outnumbered army and has launched a devastating aerial campaign against civilian areas.

Peskov referred to President Vladimir Putin’s September statement, which warned that allowing Ukraine to target Russia would significantly escalate the conflict, essentially putting NATO countries, including the US and European nations, at war with Russia.

Peskov also alleged that Western countries providing longer-range weapons to Ukraine are also offering targeting assistance, thus changing the nature of their involvement in the conflict. Putin had previously threatened, in June, to supply longer-range weapons to other countries to target Western interests if NATO allowed Ukraine to use its allies’ arms against Russia. Following a treaty with North Korea, Putin explicitly threatened to provide weapons to Pyongyang, mirroring Western justifications that it’s up to the receiving nation to decide their use.

Putin reiterated Moscow’s readiness to use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty is threatened. Russia’s Foreign Ministry stated that Biden’s decision signifies direct involvement of the US and its allies in military actions against Russia, fundamentally altering the conflict’s nature.
Frances Ibiefo