THE NEW YORK TIMES: The unusual alert came a day after Ukraine used American-made ballistic missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time.
The United States Embassy in Kyiv issued an urgent warning on Wednesday morning that Russia might launch “a significant air attack,” closing the embassy and telling employees to shelter in place.
Air-raid alerts are a daily fact of life in Ukraine and the capital often comes under drone and missile attacks, but the embassy rarely issues such a specific alert or shuts down.
The warning came one day after Ukraine’s military used American-made ballistic missiles to strike into Russian territory for the first time, after receiving long-sought authorization from President Biden to do so. The Kremlin had long warned that such strikes would be treated as an escalation, and on Tuesday vowed to respond.
“We will be taking this as a qualitatively new phase of the Western war against Russia,” Russia’s foreign minister, Sergei V. Lavrov, said at a news conference on Tuesday. “And we will react accordingly.” » | Marc Santora | Reporting from Kyiv, Ukraine | Wednesday, November 20, 2024
THE NEW YORK TIMES: As Trump Pushes Peace, Russia Intensifies Assaults on Ukraine: Overextended and exhausted, Ukrainian forces lack manpower and artillery against Russian forces willing to absorb staggering casualties. »
