Move comes as Putin lowers threshold for use of nuclear weapons; North Korean troops have participated in battle, South Korea saysThe US embassy in Kyiv has received “specific information” of a potential significant air attack on Wednesday and will be closed, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a post on X.It recommended US citizens to be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced.The US called on Russia “to stop this bellicose and the irresponsible rhetoric”, but said it has not seen any reason to adjust its nuclear posture. US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said he was “not surprised” by comments by the Kremlin over the revised nuclear doctrine.The UK’s prime minister, Keir Starmer, also accused Russia of being guilty of making “irresponsible rhetoric”. In a direct message to the Russian president, Starmer added: “On day 1,000 of Russia’s illegal war in Ukraine, I say again: ‘End the war. Get out of Ukraine’.”Ukraine fired US-made long-range missiles into Russia for the first time since the Biden administration lifted restrictions on their use. The target appeared to be an ammunition warehouse. Ukraine’s general staff said it hit a military arsenal of the 1046th logistics centre outside the city of Karachev without confirming the use of the missiles. Russia’s defence ministry said Ukraine launched six US-made Atacms missiles targeting the south-western Bryansk region overnight. It claimed that five of the missiles were shot down and another was damaged. It said debris from the rockets caused a fire at an unnamed military facility.Ukraine’s president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, did not directly confirm the missile attack targeting Bryansk but said: “We now have Atacms, Ukrainian long-range capabilities, and we will use them.”The Kremlin spokesperson, Dmitry Peskov, appeared to suggest that Russia might respond with nuclear weapons if Ukraine used western-supplied missiles to strike targets inside Russia. The Kremlin said the purpose of its updated nuclear doctrine was to make potential enemies understand the inevitability of retaliation for an attack on Russia or its allies. Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine declares that a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The doctrine also states that an attack using conventional missiles, drones or other aircraft could be seen as justification for a nuclear response. Continue reading…
Source link : https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2024/nov/20/russia-ukraine-war-live-biden-us-weapons-missiles-putin-nuclear
Author : Philip Wen
Publish date : 2024-11-20 06:16:21
Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.
Russia-Ukraine war live: Biden to provide antipersonnel landmines for Ukraine – reports
