KYIV: The Kremlin accused US President Joe Biden on Monday of escalating the war in Ukraine by allowing Kyiv to use long-range missiles supplied by Washington to strike targets inside Russia.

The comments came as Moscow unleashed a second missile attack in as many days on the Unesco-protected Ukrainian city of Odesa on the Black Sea that left 10 dead and more than 40 wounded.

Kyiv has long sought authorisation from Washington to use the powerful Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit military installations inside Russia as its troops come under growing pressure. Ukraine says it needs to be able to carry out strikes in Russia to prevent aerial bombardments that have levelled entire districts of towns near the front line and decimated energy facilities across the country.

“It’s obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps in order to continue fuelling the fire and provoke a further escalation of tensions,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Sweden, Finland urge residents to be ready for war

A US official earlier confirmed the major US policy shift, specifying it was in response to Russia’s deployment of thousands of North Korean troops to aid its war effort.

Peskov said this marked “new spiral of tensions and a qualitatively new situation from the point of view of the US’s engagement in the conflict.” He said President Vladimir Putin had expressed Moscow’s position clearly in September when the Russian leader said such a move would put Nato “at war” with Russia.

Meanwhile, Germany on Monday said that it was delivering 4,000 AI-guided drones to Ukraine, even as it has refused to send Kyiv the long-range Taurus missile system.

Berlin has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion. Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told reporters at an event in Bavaria that the drones being provided “were directed and supported by artificial intelligence” and that they could “take out the enemy’s electronic drone defences”.

The drones “can be delivered very quickly” and could be “deployed 30-40 kilometres behind the front line and hit combat posts, logistics hubs among other targets”, Pistorius said.

‘If crisis or war comes’

Sweden on Monday began sending millions of pamphlets advising residents how to prepare for possible war and Finland launched a new website, as Ukraine fights the grinding three-year Russian invasion.

The Nordic neighbours have dropped decades of military non-alignment to join the US-led defence alliance Nato. “The security situation is serious and we all need to strengthen our resilience to face various crises and ultimately war,” said Mikael Frisell, the director of the Swedish Civil Contingencies Agency (MSB) which sent out the brochures.

Published in Dawn, November 19th, 2024