Ukraine-Russia war latest: Biden gives Zelensky go ahead to use US long-range missiles against Russia
Vladimir Putin warned the decision to allow US long-range missiles to strike targets deep within Russia would be an act of war
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Your support makes all the difference.Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to strike hundreds of miles inside Russia for the first time, according to reports.
The decision is a major US policy shift and comes after Russia warned that Moscow would see the move to allow the use of US-made missiles “as a major escalation”.
With Biden leaving office in two months President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
In September, Vladimir Putin warned the decision would be an act of war back when reports emerged that Joe Biden was “working out” the possibility of US long-range missiles being used inside Russia.
It came as a “massive” Russian missile attack, dubbed the largest air attack on Ukraine in months, has killed at least seven people and injured at least 19, according to Ukrainian officials.
The strikes targeted vital energy infrastructure as temperatures hit sub-zero in the war-torn country.
Polish air force scrambles jets to face Russian drone attacks
Poland and its allies carried out an air operation in response to a large-scale Russian missile attack on western Ukraine.
The Polish military says “regular pairs of fighter jets have been scrambled, and ground-based air defence and radar systems have been placed on high alert”, according to a statement from the Polish armed forces via Ukrainska Pravda.
“Attention, the operation of Polish and allied aircraft in our airspace has begun due to a large-scale attack by the Russian Federation, which has launched cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles against targets located, in particular, in western Ukraine,” the statement adds.
“The Operational Command is monitoring the current situation, and the subordinate assets and personnel remain in full readiness for immediate response.”
At least three killed overnight in Russian drone attacks
Two railway workers have been killed in a Russian drone attack on a depot in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
Three other railway workers were also injured in the attacks, according to Ukrainska Pravda.
A 66-year-old woman was killed in in her car in the Chervonohrad district of the Lviv region after the fall of Russian missile wreckage. Two other men were injured in the attack, with one taken to hospital.
The main heating pipe in the area was damaged, leaving 6,000 people without heating, and 12 garages caught fire amid the bombardment.
Ukraine’s largest energy provider reports ‘serious damage’ after drone attacks
Russian strikes on Ukraine have “seriously damaged” equipment at the thermal power stations owned by the country’s largest energy provider, the company said on Sunday.
Employees are working on repairing the equipment, DTEK said on social media, but it did not specify what had been hit.
In pictures: Ukraine reels from largest drone attack in months
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