Moscow says nuclear threat no bluff as US confirms arms can strike inside Russia
Russian security chief Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday that Russia was not bluffing about using tactical nuclear weapons after the US and Germany confirmed Ukraine can use their weapons to strike inside Russian territory.
In a post on Telegram, Mr Medvedev said Moscow’s conflict with the West was developing according to the worst-case scenario and that “no one can rule out it escalating to the last stage.”
His comments came after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said President Joe Biden had approved Ukraine using US-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia on targets that were attacking the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Mr Blinken said Washington’s move marked a change in policy after Mr Biden had previously refused to allow Kyiv to use American weaponry for strikes inside Russia, but he did not specifically say whether the authorisation could expand to include cities and targets deeper inside the country.
Speaking at a news conference in Prague after an informal meeting of Nato foreign ministers, Mr Blinken said: “Over the past few weeks, Ukraine came to us and asked for the authorisation to use weapons that we’re providing to defend against this aggression, including against Russian forces that are massing on the Russian side of the border and then attacking into Ukraine.
“And that went right to the President, and as you’ve heard, he’s approved use of our weapons for that purpose. Going forward, we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is as necessary adapt and adjust.”
The change in language comes after Kyiv officials had applied pressure on the US to allows strikes inside Russia to counter Moscw’s advances in the towns just north of Kharkiv.
Speaking to reporters in Stockholm, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Ukraine “got message from the American side early in the morning” on Friday which signified a “step forward” in defending people in villages near the border with Russia.
He added: “I think that using any weapon, Western kind of weapon, on the territory of Russia is a question of time. Otherwise, it is not about just peace.”
Mr Zelensky did not disclose additional details on the communication with the US and questions hang over what restrictions remain in place in relation to the use of long-awaited F-16 fighter jets. But US officials on Thursday confirmed that US policy would continue to prohibit the Ukrainian military from using ATACMS, which have a range of up to 186 miles, and other long-range US-supplied weapons for deep strikes inside Russia.
Nato foreign ministers met in the Czech capital on Friday to re-affirm their support for Ukraine, as countries begin to remove restrictions on western-supplied weaponry to counteract Russian advances inside Ukrainian territory.
Germany signalled its openness to Ukraine’s use of its weapons to strike military sites fuelling attacks on the Kharkiv region.
A German government spokesperson said: “We are jointly convinced that Ukraine has the right, guaranteed under international law, to defend itself against these attacks.
“To do so, it can also use the weapons supplied for this purpose in accordance with its international legal obligations; including those supplied by us.”
France has also re-positioned its stance, giving Ukraine the green light to strike targets inside Russia in response to attacks on Kharkiv.
Earlier this week, France’s President, Emmanuel Macron, raised the possibility of sending troops to Ukraine. French authorities are trying to put together a coalition of willing countries to train Ukrainian forces besieged by the Russian army.
According to Le Monde, the mission would initially involve “a few dozen specialists to identify training needs”.
“Then, in a second phase, a mission of several hundred soldiers. The idea is to train deminers, or even… to train the soldiers of a new motorised brigade.”
Consultations are likely to accelerate in the next few days, as Mr Zelensky embarks on a visit France to mark the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings on 6 and 7 June.
The news comes as Russia continues to attack Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, 19 miles (30 km) from the border with Russia. Overnight, ballistic missiles struck an apartment block in Kharkiv, killing at least four people, Ukrainian officials said.
It came after a missile attack on a residential building close to midnight and was followed by another missile 25 minutes later, according to regional governor Oleh Syniehubov.
