Ukraine strikes Russia with British missiles as tensions escalate
For the first time, Ukrainian armed forces have launched British cruise missiles toward military targets in Russia, Bloomberg reports, citing Western officials.
Bloomberg notes that the attacks using Storm Shadow missiles were approved in response to Russia sending North Korean troops into the conflict against Ukraine. According to the agency's source, the UK government considered this move an escalation of the conflict.
Attacks in the Kursk region in Russia
Russian propaganda channels reported that Kyiv allegedly launched about 12 Storm Shadow missiles into the Kursk region in Russia.
Recordings published by Ukrainian media capture a series of powerful explosions. The attack reportedly occurred on Wednesday after 8 AM Eastern Time, targeting the village of Mar'ino in the Kursk region.
Did Biden give Ukraine the green light?
According to unofficial information, President Joe Biden's administration has given Ukraine the green light to use American weapons to strike targets deep within Russia. On Tuesday, Ukraine and Russia reported that Kyiv used American ATACMS missiles to hit a Russian ammunition depot in the Bryansk region, about 80 miles from the border with Ukraine.
The Kremlin has long threatened that if the West allows Ukraine to use missiles provided by the USA, the United Kingdom, and France to attack targets deep within Russia, it will consider these NATO member states as directly engaging in the war.
On Tuesday, Vladimir Putin approved an amendment to Russia's nuclear doctrine, which stipulates that a "critical threat" to the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Belarus and Russia, or the provision of "territory and resources" for aggression against Russia, would be a basis for Moscow's use of nuclear weapons.
