A day after it became known that Ukraine has used US ATACMS missiles for the first time against a military target on Russian soil, different news agencies claim that this Wednesday kyiv has also fired British Storm Shadow missiles at the Russian province of Kursk. This step, the details of which are attributed to unidentified Western sources, occurs amid an escalation of tension in the conflict that includes threats of retaliation from Moscow, which has just approved changes to expand the assumptions of the use of nuclear weapons. The embassies of the United States and Spain in kyiv have announced the temporary closure of their facilities due to fear of a Russian attack.
Ukraine already had these 250-kilometer-range missiles at its disposal to use on its own territory. Without giving express authorization, London and Paris had also shown themselves willing to allow the use of the Storm Shadow/Scalp, manufactured by the European consortium MBDA, against targets in Russia. By including American components, authorization from the Joe Biden Administration was also necessary.
The Russian military Telegram channel Dva Mayora claims that this Wednesday’s attack occurred with 12 Storm Shadow missiles. Dva Mayora has also provided images of fragments of the rockets that would respond to this British weaponry. Air Force spokesman Yurii Ignat cannot confirm whether his planes have fired the Storm Shadows.
The Democratic president, who will leave the White House when Donald Trump takes office on January 20, changed his position and authorized the use of ATACMS last Sunday. The United Kingdom had been pressuring the United States for several months to take this step. A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, the Labor Party, declined to comment on operational matters.
The first use by the Ukrainian army of ATACMS in Russia occurred in the early hours of Tuesday, against an arms depot in the province of Bryansk, bordering Ukraine. Ukrainian media and defense analysts assume that Washington will allow military units to be attacked in the Russian border provinces, but not beyond.
Following information about the use of ATACMS, the Kremlin warned this Tuesday that the use of long-range missiles on its territory is an escalation in the war and that it would respond with force. “The Embassy has received specific information of a potential Russian air attack on November 20,” he says. a note published by the US diplomatic services.
The Spanish legation alludes, for its part, to the “increased risk of air attacks occurring throughout Ukraine” and recommends that Spaniards residing in the country “take extreme security measures, comply with all the recommendations of local authorities and always have located a shelter.” The embassies of Italy and Greece have followed the same example and have also interrupted their services in the Ukrainian capital.
It is not uncommon for Western diplomatic services in kyiv to send warnings of this type to their personnel assigned to Ukraine at the hottest moments of the war, especially in periods when Russia intensifies its large-scale bombings against the capital. Ukraine suffered a massive bombing this Sunday, the first in the last three months, in which the invader used 120 missiles and 90 drone bombs. However, the decision by the US Embassy comes a few days after the Kremlin threatened retaliation against the main European powers and Washington if they gave the green light to Ukraine’s use of its long-range missiles against Russian territory.
Andrii Kovalenko, member of the Ukrainian National Security Council, has issued a harsh statement against “the panic” that Russia is trying to sow, fueled from his point of view by the closure of the embassies. As he explains, there is nothing extraordinary, in the context of war, about Russian plans to attack in winter. “They supplied themselves with missiles, they prepared the aviation, the navy. They had cruise and ballistic missiles, as well as drones to exhaust the air defense. These plans are not unexpected, they are known and they were warned about them,” he explained.
People raise the American flag in front of the US embassy in kyiv on May 18, 2022. Anatolii Siryk (Future Publishing/Getty Images)
US President Joe Biden authorized on November 17 that ATACMS missiles, with a range of 300 kilometers, could be used against military targets in Russia. Added to this is that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already been using US Himars precision rockets since August in the Russian province of Kursk, partly occupied by kyiv troops.
Russian threats were also directed at France and the United Kingdom by the Storm Shadow/Scalp. This context of tension does not differ greatly from other chapters of the invasion against Ukraine, when the Russian authorities have responded to each new Western military assistance with severe warnings. This was when the first American and European missiles were used against Russian positions on the Crimean peninsula or in the occupied regions of Donetsk and Lugansk. The Kremlin also raised its tone when the first American F-16 fighters entered service in Ukraine this year or when, in 2023, Germany gave the go-ahead for the supply of its Leopard tanks.
The current tension coincides with the approval by Russian President Vladimir Putin of a change in Russian nuclear doctrine that would allow it to respond with atomic weapons to aggression on its territory with conventional weapons. Sabrina Singh, spokesperson for the US Secretary of Defense, assured on Tuesday that the Pentagon is not aware that Russia is preparing a nuclear attack against Ukraine.
Russian threats of escalation have been constant during the more than 1,000 days of the invasion. Only on one occasion did the US government believe there was a serious risk, 50%, that Putin would order the use of a tactical atomic bomb on Ukraine. This is what journalist Bob Woodward says in his recent book Guerra. It was in the fall of 2022, when the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the province of Kherson threatened to encircle tens of thousands of Russian soldiers. Woodward says that the White House had information that Putin considered using low-intensity nuclear weapons to avoid the loss of thousands of his men.
The liberation of the western half of the province of Kherson and its capital was the last major Ukrainian victory to liberate part of its occupied territory. Most of the war front has been virtually stagnant since then, with the exception of Donetsk province, where Russian troops are advancing in force.
In recent hours, Ukraine has continued its periodic bombings against military installations on Russian soil. The intelligence services of the Ministry of Defense (GUR) assured this Tuesday that they destroyed a command post in the border province of Belgorod. The GUR reports its own operations, which, in the case of strikes on Russian soil, are usually by bomb drones.
Kovalenko has also assured that a drone factory has been destroyed in Belgorod. The member of the National Security Council added that his bomb drones destroyed a Russian arsenal this morning in the Novgorod region, 680 kilometers from Ukrainian territory. The fleet of unmanned vehicles is the main weapon that Ukraine has developed to carry out constant strikes hundreds of kilometers inside Russia.
It was also known this Wednesday, according to reports the American newspaper The Washington Postthat Biden has authorized for the first time the transfer of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine. Something that, until now, had been ruled out due to the high risk of causing civilian casualties. Both the Russian and Ukrainian armies use these explosives in enormous quantities along the more than 1,000 kilometers of war front.
What strategies is Ukraine employing to ensure civilian safety amidst the ongoing military operations against Russia?
Welcome to World Today News, where we bring you the latest happenings from around the world. Today, we have with us two distinguished guests to discuss the recent developments in Ukraine’s military operations against Russia. We have Mr. Andrii Kovalenko, member of the Ukrainian National Security Council, and Ms. Sabrina Singh, spokesperson for the US Secretary of Defense.
Mr. Kovalenko, you mentioned that there’s nothing extraordinary about Russian plans to attack in winter. Can you tell us more about Ukraine’s strategy for the upcoming months? How do you plan to counter these attacks and what steps is your government taking to ensure the safety of civilians?
Ms. Singh, the US recently authorized the use of ATACMS missiles with a 300-kilometer range against military targets in Russia. What role do you see these missiles playing in the conflict, and how concerned are you about the possibility of escalation with Moscow? Additionally, can you comment on reports that the US has now authorized the transfer of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine?
Both guests, Russian threats of retaliation have been constant since the beginning of the invasion. Do you think these threats are genuine or just for show? What are some of the challenges you face in managing the ongoing tension between both sides?
the Ukrainian military has been successful in using longer-range missiles against Russian targets. How important are these weapons in the war effort, and what role do you see Western countries playing in providing this kind of support?
