Furious Kremlin – and Trump allies – attack Biden’s ‘escalation’ of Ukraine war
Your support helps us to tell the storyFrom reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.Your support makes all the difference.CloseRead moreJoe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-made long-range missiles is an “escalation” of the conflict, Moscow said on Monday as it warned use of the weapons would trigger a “tangible” response.The Kremlin reacted with fury after the US president eased limits on what targets Kyiv can strike using the American-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS.“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to … continue pouring oil on the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.Mr Biden’s move – previously ruled out over fears of bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato – put fresh pressure on Britain to follow suit with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.Keir Starmer sidestepped questions on the issue last night, but did not rule out a change, saying: “We need to double down … to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.”Keir Starmer, at the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, has promised to ‘double down’ on support for Ukraine More