Biden approves anti-personnel mines use for Ukraine against Russia
...as US closes Kyiv embassy over attack threat
US President Joe Biden agrees to give Ukraine anti-personnel land mines, a defence official tells the BBC, in a move seen as an attempt to slow down Russian troop advances
The US official confirms to the BBC that Ukraine has pledged to use only mines that remained active for a limited period of time and would not use them in densely-populated areas
Meanwhile, the US embassy in Kyiv is temporarily closed as it says it received information of a “potential significant air attack on 20 November”
Overnight, both Ukraine and Russia reported major drone attacks
Earlier, it was confirmed that US-made longer-range Army Tactical Missile System (Atacms) missiles had struck targets inside Russia only days after reports emerged that the White House had granted permission for their use.
The US has responded to changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine, saying they are “not surprised” by the decision.
The changes that were approved yesterday by Russian President Vladimir Putin set out new conditions under which the country would consider using its nuclear arsenal.
In a statement yesterday, Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said this is something Russia has been “signalling” they would do over the last several weeks.
“It’s the same irresponsible rhetoric that we’ve seen before and that we’ve seen frankly for the past two years,” said Singh. She adds that the US will continue to monitor the situation but they “don’t have any indications that Russia is preparing to use a nuclear weapon within Ukraine”.
Singh also said that the US doesn’t see any changes that need to be made to its own nuclear posture.
US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller added: “Despite what Russia says, neither the United States nor NATO pose any threat to Russia,”
“We will continue to call on Russia to stop bellicose and irresponsible rhetoric,” he said.
