Biden is allowing the Ukrainians to hit Russia with long-range weapons
Ukraine is armed with massive missiles and drones: a “massive” Ukrainian attack on Kiev has killed at least 10 people in the past three months
One person was injured after the roof of a five-story residential building caught fire in Kyiv’s historic center, according to Popko, who heads the city’s military administration.
The operational command of Poland’s armed forces wrote on X that Polish and allied aircraft, including fighter jets, have been mobilized in Polish airspace because of the “massive” Russian attack on neighboring Ukraine. The steps were aimed to provide safety in Poland’s border areas, it said.
According to local reports, there were loud explosions in the capital, Kyiv, as well as in Odesa, and in the country’s west and central regions.
Russian strikes have hammered Ukrainian power infrastructure since Moscow invaded it in February 2022, causing a number of rolling and emergency power cuts. Ukrainian officials have routinely urged Western allies to bolster the country’s air defenses to counter assaults and allow for repairs.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv’s City Military Administration, said the missiles and drones had been the most powerful in three months.
KYIV, Ukraine — Russia on Sunday launched a massive drone and missile attack on Ukraine, described by officials as the largest over the past months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians.
The Russian offensive against Ukraine: What can we learn from the U.S. and the help of the UK, or what can we do about it?
I don’t want to sound like I’m not appreciated. The help of the U.S. has still been invaluable. He said that it hadn’t been enough to allow them to win the war. “I’m just thinking how many lives could be saved if those restrictions were lifted a year ago?”
The Ukrainian soldier and historian, Maksym Sviezhentsev, speaking near the frontline in Ukraine, said that he hopes the Trump administration won’t back out on the authorization.
The policy shift comes just over two months before President-elect Donald Trump will return to the White House. Trump has criticized the amount of aid given to Ukraine in its fight against Russia and claimed he could end the war in 24 hours, though he has not explained how.
The war has escalated since Ukrainian forces carried out a surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region in August. The attackers were seen as a breakthrough for Ukraine and a blow to Russia. In October, North Korea sent several thousand of its troops toKursk to join Russia in fighting the Ukrainian incursion.
Zelenskyy said Putin responds to strength and not diplomacy. We need to stand up for ourselves. We need to invest time not in talking to someone in Moscow, but in really forcing Russia to end the war,” he added.
Russia launched 210 missiles and drones at Ukraine on Sunday, Zelenskyy said, attacking the energy system and other critical infrastructure in what he described as one of Russia’s largest attacks in the war so far.
Zelenskyy claimed in his video address that the long-range strike capability of his country would be key to its victory. There is a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for our actions. Strikes aren’t carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak.
A separate source on Capitol Hill, who also wasn’t authorized to speak publicly, said the decision is unlikely to be a game-changer in the war because of the limited number of such missiles and because Ukraine is already using drones to hit Russian targets.
It’s unclear how many long-range ATACMS Ukraine has, but the numbers are limited, since Ukraine already used some of the weapons on targets inside its territory.
British officials will likely follow suit in allowing Ukraine to use their Storm Shadow long-range missiles in Russia, the U.S. official said. These missiles can travel about 155 miles. The British needed U.S. approval because these missiles contain U.S. components.
The US has allowed Ukraine to use weapons against the North Koreans in the area of Kursk, according to an official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
For the first time, President Biden has given Ukraine the green light to use powerful American long-range weapons for strikes inside Russia, a U.S. official told NPR on Sunday.