Ukraine fires British-made Storm Shadow missiles at Russia | Russia-Ukraine war news

Britain's long-range Storm Shadow missiles were fired into Russian territory for the first time, British media reported, a day after Ukraine fired a US-made long-range missile into Ukraine.

The Russian War Correspondent's account on Telegram posted a video on Wednesday that included the sound of missiles striking in the Kursk region on the Ukrainian border. At least 14 huge explosions were heard, many of them with a sharp whistling sound, like incoming missiles. Video filmed in a residential area showed black smoke rising from a distance.

Kursk residents also reportedly discovered missile fragments in the area.

A spokesman for British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the prime minister's office would not comment on the report or operational matters.

Britain has previously said Ukraine could use Storm Shadow cruise missiles within Ukrainian territory, but London has been pressuring the United States for months to allow the missiles' use to strike targets inside Russia.

On Tuesday, Ukraine used American-made long-range weapons to attack targets in Russia. U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has allowed Kiev to use the missiles only in and around the Kursk region.

Since then, Russian President Vladimir Putin has lowered the threshold for a nuclear attack in response to a more widespread conventional attack. Afterwards, the United States stated that there was no reason to adjust its nuclear posture, and China requested restraint.

In another U.S. policy shift Wednesday, Biden authorized the use of anti-personnel landmines in Ukraine. Washington also announced a $275 million military aid package for Ukraine, including munitions, artillery shells, Javelin surface-to-air missiles, small arms and ammunition for the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS).

The U.S. policy shift comes at a time when Russia is at a precarious juncture in the Ukraine war, which has continued for more than 1,000 days. Almost a fifth of Ukraine's territory is in Russian hands. As North Korean troops are deployed to the Kursk region and US President-elect Donald Trump prepares to return to the White House in January, doubts are growing about the future of Western support.

Al Jazeeras Assed Baig, reporting from Kiev, said the decision to authorize the use of anti-personnel landmines was intended to help Ukraine slow Russia's advance in the east to gain more influence in future peace talks. He said it is likely to be consistent with the U.S. attempt.

The Biden administration is leaving office and President-elect Donald Trump has taken office. Trump condemned U.S. military aid to Ukraine and said he would end the war within days, Beig said.

So what the U.S. administration wants to do is to put Ukraine in a very strong position so that it can at least slow down Russia's progress so that when there are negotiations, Ukraine is in a better position than it is now, he added.

The United States has not signed the 1997 Landmine Ban Convention, but Biden has pledged to limit the use of landmines.

The Russian government said American actions showed the United States wanted to prolong the war and promised to respond.

Russia's Foreign Intelligence Service chief Sergei Naryshkin warned in an interview published Wednesday that Moscow would retaliate against NATO countries that encourage long-range Ukrainian missile attacks on Russian territory.

Foreign embassies in Kyiv

In Kiev on Wednesday, the United States closed its embassy due to the threat of significant airstrikes.

Later, after air raid sirens disturbed Kiev in the early afternoon, Ukraine's military intelligence agency said Russia was trying to sow fear by spreading fake online messages about an upcoming large-scale missile and drone attack.

The enemy, unable to subdue the Ukrainians by force, exerts threats and psychological pressure on society. We ask you to remain vigilant and act decisively.

U.S. government sources said the embassy closure was linked to the ongoing threat of airstrikes.

Italian and Greek embassies also said they were closed. Meanwhile, the French embassy remained open but urged citizens to be cautious. The German Embassy in Kiev said the embassy would remain open but capacity would be limited.

Separately, Ukraine's parliament on Wednesday agreed to change military mobilization rules and allow Ukrainians released from Russian captivity to postpone fighting, according to The Kyiv Independent newspaper. Soldiers can be discharged even after their family members are killed or go missing, the report added.

Kiev also said Wednesday that it had shot down 56 of 122 drones and two of six missiles launched by Russia.

Meanwhile, Moscow said Ukrainian forces destroyed a Ukrainian army unit in Kursk's Olgovskaya Rositsa district, where Ukrainian forces seized territory after Kiev launched an offensive there in August.

Reuters reported Wednesday that Putin said he was open to discussing a ceasefire with Trump but ruled out major territorial concessions and insisted Kiev give up its ambitions to join NATO.

But Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded to the Reuters report by saying that any option to freeze the conflict would not work for us.

He told a press conference that it was important for Russia to achieve goals that were well known to everyone.

According to Russia's TASS news agency, Peskov was referring to Russia's demands for Ukraine's neutral and non-aligned status, the security of Russia's borders and Kiev's refusal to place foreign weapons on its territory.

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