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The US has closed its embassy in Kyiv over the threat of a “significant air attack” on Wednesday, Washington has said.
After receiving “specific information” about a possible attack, the embassy has shut down and U.S citizens have been advised to immediately shelter if an air alert is announced, the Travel State Department said.
It comes as Russia responds furiously to US president Joe Biden’s decision to approve the use of American long-range ATACMS missiles in Russian territory for the first time.
Ukraine deployed the missile for the first time on Tuesday, striking a Russian arms depot 110km deep inside the country on the 1,000th day of war. Moscow warned that it would respond “accordingly”.
Hours afterwards, Vladimir Putin signed a new nuclear doctrine lowering the threshold under which Russia can deploy atomic weapons to respond to attacks on its territory, warning Washington.
Mr Biden has now also approved the provision of anti-personnel land mines to Ukraine, a US official told Reuters. Ukraine had committed to not using the mines in densely populated areas.
Full report: Ukraine fires first US-made long-range missiles into Russia
Ukraine has fired US-supplied long-range missiles into Russia for the first time since Joe Biden lifted restrictions on their use – with Moscow warning that it would respond “accordingly” on a day where Vladimir Putin lowered the bar for the Kremlin to launch an attack using nuclear weapons.
Ukraine used the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) in a strike on Russia’s Bryansk region, about 80 miles (130 kilometres) from the border.
Russia’s revised nuclear doctrine now declares a conventional attack on Russia by any nation supported by a nuclear power will be considered a joint attack on his country. The doctrine, which lays the conditions under which Russia’s leadership might consider a nuclear strike, also states that an attack using conventional missiles, drones or other kinds of aircraft could justify the response.
Chris Stevenson and Steffie Banatvala have the full report:
Alex Croft20 November 2024 08:30
Strikes in Russia facilitaed by NATO will not go unpunished, says Russian spy chief
Ukrainian strikes deep inside Russia which are facilitated by NATO will not go unpunished, Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said on Wednesday according to the state-run RIA news agency.
U.S. ATACMS long-range missiles were used to strike Russian territory on Tuesday after US president Joe Biden gave long-awaited permission for their use by Kyiv’s forces.
Alex Croft20 November 2024 08:16
Report: US shuts Kyiv embassy over fears of ‘significant air attack’
The US embassy in Kyiv was shut down on Wednesday morning after receiving information of a potential significant air attack, US officials said.
“Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a statement published on the website of the US embassy in Kyiv.
“The US embassy recommends US citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced,” the statement said.
The warning comes a day after Ukraine used long-range missiles to strike Russian territory, taking advantage of newly granted permission from the outgoing administration of president Joe Biden on the war’s 1,000th day.
Arpan Rai20 November 2024 08:01
Changing nuclear doctrine just ‘rhetoric’, says France
Yesterday, Russian president Vladimir Putin signed a doctrine lowering the threshold for a conductig a nuclear strike.
But French foreign minister Jean-Noel Barrot has dismissed this decision as just “rhetoric”, telling France 2 television that “we are not intimidated”.
Russia has consistently sabre-rattled with the West about the prospect of using nuclear weapons.
The changes to Putin’s nuclear doctrine will allow Russia to use weapons of mass destruction if Russia undergoes a major air attack using conventional weapons.
Alex Croft20 November 2024 07:40
Putin’s nuclear shift shows he has no interest in peace, warns Zelensky
Vladimir Putin’s decision to alter Russia’s nuclear doctrine shows he has no interest in peace, Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has alleged.
Mr Zelensky said: “Especially on this day … they presented [a] nuclear weapons strategy. Why? They didn’t present [a] peace strategy. Did you hear it? … Putin wants war.”
Speaking to the Ukrainian parliament on the war’s 1,000th day, he said: “At this stage of the war, it is being decided who will prevail. Whether us over the enemy, or the enemy over us Ukrainians … and Europeans. And everyone in the world who wants to live freely and not be subject to a dictator.”
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 07:00
US embassy in Kyiv shuts down over anticipated air attack
The US embassy in Kyiv has received information of a potential significant air attack today and will be closed, the US Department of State Consular Affairs said in a post on X.
Arpan Rai20 November 2024 06:55
Photos: UK marks 1,000 days of Ukraine war
Arpan Rai20 November 2024 06:46
North Korea sent more conventional weapons to Russia, South Korea says
North Korea recently supplied additional artillery systems to Russia to support its war efforts against Ukraine, while some of the thousands of North Korean troops deployed in Russia have begun engaging in combat, South Korea’s spy agency told lawmakers today.
The South Korean assessment came after Russia warned Monday that US president Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles adds “fuel to the fire” of the war. US officials said Biden’s decision was triggered almost entirely by North Korea’s entry into the war.
In a closed-door briefing at parliament, the National Intelligence Service said that North Korea exported 170mm self-propelled guns and 240mm multiple rocket launch systems to Russia, according to lawmaker Lee Seong Kweun, who attended the meeting.
Mr Lee told reporters that the NIS assessed those weapons are a type of artillery the Russian military doesn’t operate so North Korea likely dispatched personnel to teach the Russians how to use them and handle their maintenance.
Arpan Rai20 November 2024 06:28
China has key role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, Macron says
France’s Emmanuel Macron has said that China has an important role to play in avoiding nuclear escalation, after Russian president Vladimir Putin lowered the threshold for a nuclear strike.
Meeting with China’s president Xi Jinping in Rio de Janeiro as part of the G20 summit, Mr Macron said he asked him to put pressure on Mr Putin to end the war with Ukraine.
Mr Macron said North Korea’s decision to send troops to fight in Ukraine had raised the stakes for China, and that it should push for a de-escalation after Mr Putin’s decision to change Russia’s nuclear doctrine.
Speaking with reporters on the sidelines of the summit, the French president said he would invite Donald Trump and his ally Elon Musk to France in February for an artificial intelligence summit.
Andy Gregory20 November 2024 06:01
Russia downs 44 Ukrainian drones, including 20 over Novgorod region
Russia’s air defence systems destroyed 44 Ukrainian drones overnight, including 20 over the northwestern Novgorod region, Russia’s defence ministry said this morning.
The other 24 drones were destroyed over several regions in Russia’s central and western part, the ministry said.
The ministry did not provide any information about potential damage as result of the attacks.
Arpan Rai20 November 2024 05:50
