Moscow, 19 November 2024 (dpa/MIA) - A top foreign affairs official in Russia has warned of an escalation in the Ukraine war after the US reportedly gave Kiev the apparent go-ahead to strike deeper into Russian territory.

"US missile strikes deep into Russian territory will inevitably lead to a major escalation that threatens to have far more serious consequences," said the chairman of the State Duma's foreign affairs committee, Leonid Slutsky, in an interview with the state-run news agency TASS.

If the information is confirmed, Slutsky said, then Russia will react in the strongest possible way.

He said that outgoing US President Joe Biden was not only making it more difficult for his designated successor Donald Trump to end the war in Ukraine, but also making it harder to prevent a global confrontation.

The New York Times, among other media outlets, had previously reported that Biden had given Ukraine permission to use ATACMS missiles against targets deep inside Russian territory.

So far, there has been no official announcement from the US government, although US officials also did not deny media reports.

Ukrainian leaders have argued that being able to strike military targets such as missile launch sites well within Russian territory are key to the country's plan to counter the Russian invasion and end the war.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said the reported US go-ahead to use of long-range weapons on Russian territory was a potential "game-changer" in the war.

Ahead of a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York, Sybiha stated that the "longer Ukraine can strike, the shorter the war will be."

Praise from Europe over Biden decision

Several European Union leaders, including German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock and Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, cautiously welcomed reports of Biden's decision.

"Ukrainians shouldn't have to wait for rockets to cross the border - they should be able to destroy launch sites directly," Baerbock told German broadcaster RBB Inforadio, citing the principle of self-defence.

She highlighted the challenges Ukraine faces, where proximity to the Russian border often renders air defence ineffective due to the rapid impact of missiles.

Baerbock, of Germany's Greens, said her party holds similar views toward supporting Ukraine as the Biden as well as eastern European countries, France and the United Kingdom.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, a Social Democrat, has been far more cautious and has repeatedly warned of possible escalation, although his government has approved extensive aid to Ukraine.

Scholz has so far steadfastly refused to consider sending long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine, for instance, despite repeated pleas from Kiev.

Lithuania's Landsbergis said he would not reach for the champagne just yet as it remains unclear "how many rockets" the Ukrainians have, and wants to know if Ukraine has been supplied with enough missiles to make a difference on the battlefield.

Landsbergis said he wants no limits on Ukraine apart from those obliged by international law and that Ukraine be properly supplied with the military equipment to defend itself.

Foreign ministry also warns against permission for strikes

The Russian Foreign Ministry on Monday issued a threat to Western countries against giving Ukraine permission to strike Russia with long-range weapons.

Maria Zakharova, spokeswoman for the ministry, contended that the use of those weapons by Ukraine against Russia would mean the direct involvement of the United States and its allies in the war.

"Russia's response in such a case will be adequate and tangible," she wrote in a post on Telegram, without providing further details.

Russian strikes kill 10 in Odessa

In Ukraine, meanwhile, deadly Russian airstrikes continued. Missiles hitting the southern Ukrainian port city of Odessa killed at least 10 people and left a further 18 injured.

Seven of the victims police officers, Odessa Governor Oleh Kiper reported on Telegram.

"We would like to express our sympathies to the relatives and next-of-kin," the Ukrainian air force posted on Telegram.

"These are not coincidental missile attacks," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a post on Telegram.

"And this message should be listened to in all parts of the world, from the halls where the G20 members are meeting to the capital cities in all parts of the world," added Zelensky, who was not invited to join the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro as a guest.

Zelensky said the Russian attack had been carried out with a ballistic missile. It had damaged a residential block, a university building and an administrative building, he said.

A video clip showed burning cars, rescue workers and bodies. According to military observers, the missile was an Iskander fired from the Crimean Peninsula.

Zelensky visits the front

Zelensky on Monday travelled to the front-line city of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region in the east of the country, where he met with troops defending against Russian attacks and awarded several medals.

"It is only thanks to your strength that the east is not completely occupied by the Russian Federation," Zelensky said in the video published he posted to Telegram.

"This is a tense section of the front," he wrote in the post.

The front line between Ukrainian and Russian troops runs just under eight kilometres south-east of the mining town, which had around 60,000 inhabitants before the war.

In February, Russian troops captured the nearby town of Avdiivka, which had long been defended by Ukraine, and have been slowly but steadily advancing towards Pokrovsk ever since.

Ukraine has been defending itself against a Russian invasion for almost 1,000 days.

Photo: BBC