Ukraine Conflict
Moscow launched a special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022 with the aim of saving the people of Donbass - primarily the Russian-speaking population - from Kiev's constant attacks.

Strikes Deep Into Russia May Be US Effort to Prevent Negotiations: Special Envoy

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The outgoing administration of US President Joe Biden, which media reports claim approved Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory using long-range missiles, may be attempting to block negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict.
Sputnik

"A certain group of Democrats, who are either losing or relinquishing power, are trying to escalate the situation amid the transfer of power to Donald Trump, who has increasingly been speaking about some kind of peaceful resolution to the conflict, namely a political and diplomatic path. I think the task of the White House or its satellites was to disrupt this trajectory, essentially halting even the possibility of discussions about a peaceful settlement," Rodion Miroshnik, the Ambassador-at-Large of the Russian Foreign Ministry for the Crimes of the Kiev Regime, suggested on Wednesday.

He added that the long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine are unlikely to drastically change the situation in the conflict zone.

On Sunday, the New York Times reported, citing unnamed representatives of the US administration, that Biden had for the first time authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russian territory. According to the sources, the first strikes deep into Russian territory will most likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles. Le Figaro newspaper reported that France and the UK had also authorized Ukraine to use their long-range weapons to attack Russian territory, but later removed this information from its article. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell claimed that this authorization pertains to strikes within a 300-kilometer (186 miles) radius inside Russia.

The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on the night of November 19, Ukrainian forces launched six ATACMS ballistic missiles at the Bryansk Region. According to the ministry, Russian air defense systems shot down five missiles and damaged one. Its fragments fell on the technical territory of a military facility in the Bryansk Region, causing a fire, which was promptly eliminated. There were no casualties or significant damage.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has called the use of the ATACMS ballistic missiles in Russia's Bryansk Region a signal that the West is seeking an escalation of the Ukraine conflict.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such a permission, if the decision was made and communicated to Ukraine, meant a new round of tensions.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said in September that NATO countries were not only discussing the possible use of Western long-range weapons by Kiev, but were essentially deciding whether to become directly involved in the Ukraine conflict. Direct involvement of Western countries in the conflict will change its nature, and Russia will be forced to make decisions based on the threats to it, Putin added.
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