Authorisation for Ukraine to use US missiles against Russia ‘will not change’ operations
Washington giving Ukraine permission to use US long-range missiles to attack Russia will not change Moscow’s actions in Ukraine, a Russian MP says.
US media reported on Sunday that president Joe Biden had authorised Ukraine to strike Russia with American long-range weapons. The decision is a major strategic change shortly before Donald Trump returns to power.
Washington had previously refused to allow strikes inside Russia with US-made ATACMS missiles because it feared they would escalate the war. In September, Russian president Vladimir Putin warned that such a Western green light “would mean nothing less than the direct involvement of NATO countries in the war in Ukraine”.
"We will continue to carry out our missions as we have always done"
“The authorisation will not change the course of the operation, absolutely not. We will continue to carry out our missions as we have always done,” Andrei Kartapolov, chair of the defence committee of the lower house of the Russian parliament, told state news agency Ria Novosti. “Of course, that factor will be taken into account, but the goals set by Vladimir Putin in Ukraine will be achieved.”
Biden's authorisation came after Russian missile and drone attacks on Sunday morning left several people dead and severely affected power infrastructure. There will be power cuts across the country on Monday as a result, operator Ukrenergo announced.
According to Ukrainian authorities, energy infrastructure was the main target. Energy company DTEK said its thermal power plants suffered heavy damage, while Ukrenergo said two of its employees were among those killed.
The remains of a downed Russian hypersonic missile after it struck a residential building in Kyiv during an aerial barrage on 17 November 2024, killing at least eight people and forcing power cuts © PHOTO SERGEI SUPINSKY / AFP
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