The Biden administration in the US has granted Ukraine permission to utilize American-made weapons for strikes deep within Russia, marking a notable shift in its stance regarding the Ukraine-Russia conflict, according to two US officials and a knowledgeable source.
Sources indicated that Ukraine is preparing to launch its first long-range attacks in the near future, though specific details have not been disclosed due to operational security concerns.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky remarked that the missiles would “speak for themselves” in response to the news of the US authorization.
“Many in the media are reporting that we’ve received permission to take appropriate actions. However, strikes are not announced through words. Such matters are not declared. The missiles will indeed speak for themselves,” he stated during his evening address.
The White House has refrained from commenting on the matter.
This policy change coincides with Ukraine’s announcement of nationwide emergency power restrictions following a “massive” Russian assault that further devastated its already weakened energy infrastructure, resulting in the deaths of nine civilians across the country.
Your consent is needed to load this rte-player content. We utilize rte-player to manage additional content that may place cookies on your device and gather data regarding your activity. Please review the details and accept them to proceed with loading the content. Manage Preferences Fifty-two individuals were injured, and ten people, including two children, lost their lives when a Russian missile struck a nine-storey residential building in Ukraine’s northeastern region of Sumy, according to the country’s emergency services and military.
Mr. Zelensky reported that Russia also launched 120 missiles and nearly 100 drones, aiming at Kyiv as well as southern, central, and far-western areas of the country.
Civilians were killed in the Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions during what officials in the capital described as one of the largest assaults since the commencement of the nearly three-year Russian invasion.
This wave of destruction occurs amid Russia’s consistent advances in eastern Ukraine and concerns regarding the potential return of Donald Trump to the White House, which raises alarms over the future of US support for Ukraine.
“A hellish night,” stated Yuriy Ignat, the spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, on social media, noting that Kyiv had intercepted “144 targets”.
The nation’s grid operator, Ukrenergo, confirmed that it would implement emergency measures across all regions.
“Effective tomorrow, November 18, all regions will be required to enforce power consumption restrictions,” Ukrenergo announced via social media.
The temporary return of such measures is due to the damages inflicted on power facilities during today’s widespread missile and drone attack.
Mr. Zelensky has warned that nearly three years of war with Russia has already decimated about half of Ukraine’s energy generation capacity.
With winter approaching harshly, the country is grappling with significant energy shortages, while its outmanned and outgunned forces have been conceding territory to Kremlin troops in recent weeks.
This significant assault came just two days after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz contacted Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in almost two years, urging the Kremlin leader to halt the ongoing offensive.
‘True response’
The Ukrainian government criticized Mr. Scholz for reaching out to Putin, asserting that the attack was the Kremlin’s authentic reaction.
“This is war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who have called or visited him recently,” remarked Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga following the assault.
“We need peace through strength, not through appeasement.”
Mr. Scholz defended his outreach, affirming that Germany’s support for Ukraine remains steadfast.
“Ukraine can depend on us,” he stated before departing for a G20 meeting in Brazil, promising that “no decisions will be made behind Ukraine’s back” regarding the conclusion of the conflict.
However, Poland’s Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined in the backlash.
“No one will deter Putin with phone calls. The attack last night, one of the largest in this war, has demonstrated that diplomatic phone calls cannot replace genuine support from the entire West for Ukraine,” Mr. Tusk wrote on X.
The strikes resulted in extensive power outages nationwide, raising concerns over a precarious winter ahead.
“A massive attack on our country,” Mr. Zelensky declared.
“In the past week, the aggressor employed nearly 140 missiles of various types, over 900 precision aerial bombs, and more than 600 strike drones,” he accused the Russian government of attempting to “intimidate us with cold and blackouts”.
Reports of civilian casualties emerged from all corners of Ukraine
AFP journalists reported hearing explosions early in the morning in Kyiv and near Sloviansk in the Donetsk region.
Meanwhile, Russia claimed it had successfully struck all its intended targets, stating that it aimed at “essential energy infrastructure that supports the Ukrainian military-industrial complex”.
Police officers examined a substantial fragment of a downed Russian hypersonic missile, Zircon, in Kyiv.
Nevertheless, civilian fatalities were reported throughout the nation.
Officials in Kherson indicated that a 51-year-old woman lost her life due to a drone attack.
In the southern Mykolaiv region, local leader Vitaliy Kim reported that two women were killed during a night assault, with seven individuals—two of whom were children—injured.
The death toll included two workers from the state railway company Ukrzaliznytsia in Nikopol, who were killed when a depot was hit, according to the Dnipropetrovsk region’s governor, Sergiy Lysak. Three additional individuals were wounded in the bombardment.
In the Odesa region, two fatalities were also reported, with a teenager suffering injuries.
For more details regarding Russia’s invasion of Ukraine,
Russian drones made their way to Zakarpattia, a mountainous area infrequently targeted, with fragments allegedly landing in Pavshyno, a village near the borders of Hungary and Slovakia.
The head of the Lviv region, Maksym Kozytsky, reported a 66-year-old woman was killed while driving in Sheptytsky, a village approximately 20km from the Polish border.
In response, Poland, a NATO member, scrambled fighter jets and mobilized all available forces.
Poland places its armed forces on alert whenever there is a potential risk of attacks that might pose a threat to its own territory.
Two fatalities in Russia
In the border Kursk region, where Kyiv has retained significant Russian territory since summer, local officials reported that a Ukrainian drone strike resulted in the death of a journalist.
Kursk leader Alexei Smirnov announced that Yulia Kuznetsova, editor of the local “People’s Paper,” was killed in the Bolshesoldatskiy district while “transporting archives to her editorial office.”
The West and Ukraine allege that thousands of North Korean soldiers are present in Russia, with some assigned to reinforce Moscow’s forces in the Kursk region.
Russia also reported that a man was killed by a Ukrainian drone in its border Belgorod region.
