Ukraine-Russia war latest: Moscow warns it could go to war with NATO over US move - as Germany follows Washington in approving strikes inside Russia with its weapons (2024)

The Kremlin says Ukraine is already trying to strike targets inside of Russia with American weapons - less than a day after Joe Biden gave Kyiv the green light to do so.

Spokesman Dmitry Peskov says: "What we know is that generally, there are already attempts to strike Russian territory with weapons produced by the United States.

"This is enough for us and it speaks volumes about the degree to which the United States is involved in the conflict."

He doesn't specify what attempts have been made by Ukraine to strike inside Russia.

As other officials have said today, Peskov blames the West for escalating the conflict and says that support for Ukraine in Europe is being whipped up to the point of "pre-war hysteria".

Former Russian president Dmitry Medvedev said earlier today that Ukraine striking with US weapons inside of Russia could mean war with NATO (see 9.14am post).

Two Russian soldiers were found stabbed to death in Crimea this morning, according to Telegram report.

Sapa 15, a Russian-language Telegram channel, reports a 40-year-old local resident attacked three men with a knife.

Two men, who were servicemen, died in the attack. The third man was hospitalised in shock and suffered injuries to his hand and to the area near his kidneys.

Sapa 15 named the two men killed as Niyazbek, 39 from Vladikavkaz, and Alexander, 32 from Rostov-on-Don.

According to the Telegram channel, some reports claim the three men attacked a passerby and began to beat him. The passerby then took out a knife and stabbed the trio.

Other reports say the three men "made a remark to a group drinking on a bench" before a fight broke out.

Sapa 15 also said that "it is known that the attacker was convicted of robbery almost ten years ago".

China has insisted its demands for an international peace conference that is recognised by both Russia andUkraineare "fair" and "impartial", and not directed at any party.

Mao Ning, a foreign ministry spokesperson, made the remarks at a news briefing after Reuters reported that China would not attend aUkrainepeace conference to be hosted by Switzerland next month - to which Russia is not invited.

"China attaches great importance to Switzerland hosting the firstUkrainePeace Summit, and has been working with the Swiss side and all parties involved since the beginning of this year," Ms Mao said.

While continuing to insist it is neutral in the conflict, China remains a strong ally of Russia - with Vladimir Putin being welcomed for a state visit in the country earlier this month.

Berlin has announced Ukraine can now use German weapons to strike inside Russia, following the US and NATO allies in loosening rules on Kyiv.

In line with the US, a government spokesperson says Ukraine can use military supplies to strike targets behind the border, but only to defend Kharkiv from attacks from the north.

"We are jointly convinced that Ukraine has the right, guaranteed under international law, to defend itself against these attacks," government spokesmanSteffen Hebestreit said.

"To do so, it can also use the weapons supplied for this purpose in accordance with its international legal obligations; including those supplied by us."

Ukraine says at least four people died after Russian missiles struck an apartment building in Kharkiv overnight.

Kyiv's air force say Russia launched five S-300/S-400 ballistic missiles at the besieged city overnight, with one hitting the block of flats around midnight last night.

Regional governor Oleh Syniehubov says another missile struck first responders at the scene 25 minutes later.

It marks another attack on Kharkiv - Ukraine's second biggest city, and just 12 miles away from Russia - as Moscow continues its fresh offensive from the northern border.

Last Saturday, a Russian strike on a construction supply store in the city killed 18 people.

Russian defence ministerAndrei Belousov says Moscow stopped a Ukrainian attack using American-made missiles in Crimea last night.

He said Kyiv's "massive" bombardment used eight ATACMS - secretly sent to Ukraine by the US in March - to target the Kerch Bridge.

Russia's Ministry of Defence said air defence systems shot down the missiles and eight drones on Thursday night.

However, the general staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said yesterday that they successfully struck the Kerch ferry crossing.

Two ferries were "significantly damaged" by the attack, the general staff said, and one of the ferries was stranded and reportedly "blocked the functioning of the entire Kerch crossing".

Nikolai Lukashenko, a Russia-appointed official in Crimea, also acknowledged the strike in the port of Kerch, but said yesterday it was debris from downed Ukrainian missiles that damaged the vessels.

A top Russian official has said Ukraine striking with US weapons inside of Russia could mean war with NATO - and warned Moscow's nuclear threats are not a bluff.

Responding to Joe Biden partially lifting restrictions on how Ukraine can use military supplies yesterday (see 7.33 post), Dmitry Medvedev issued a series of warnings to the West.

The senior Kremlin figure said "no one can rule out" when tensions with the West will escalate to its "last stage" - and that Moscow will consider any long-range weapons used by Ukraine to strike inside Russia as being controlled by NATO.

"This is no military assistance, this is participation in a war against us," he said.

"And such actions could well become a casus belli [an act that provokes a war]."

He said it would be a "fatal mistake" on the part of the West to think that Russia was not ready to use tactical nuclear weapons against Ukraine - and spoke of the potential to strike unnamed hostile countries with strategic nuclear weapons.

"This is, alas, neither intimidation nor bluffing," said MrMedvedev.

"The current military conflict with the West is developing according to the worst possible scenario. There is a constant escalation when it comes to the firepower of NATO weapons being used. Therefore, nobody today can rule out the conflict's transition to its final stage."

For context:We reported yesterday that the US president had allowed Ukraine to use American weapons to strike inside of Russia - but only for the purpose of defending Kharkiv.

The region became a battlefield focus in the middle of this month when Moscow's forces launched a surprise second incursion from the north, alongside the existing eastern front.

Meanwhile, a Putin-backed thinktank also suggested yesterday that Russia should consider a "demonstrative" nuclear blast to scare Ukraine from using Western weapons inside its territory.

A former Russian president and now deputy chairman of the country's security council, Mr Medvedev is considered a close ally of Vladimir Putin.

He is notorious for making frequent and dire threats to both Ukraine and the West - often invoking Russia's nuclear weapons - and while prominent commentators tend not to attach huge significance to his regular bellicose statements, diplomats say they give a flavour of what senior people in the Kremlin are thinking.

Indeed, it has been suggested by some that his policy of making frequently wild statements are at least partially designed to ensure he is not viewed as statesmanlike - and therefore not considered by Mr Putin to be a threat to his authority.

The Hungarian prime minister says Europe is preparing for war with Russia, according to reports.

Viktor Orban, who has cultivated close ties with Vladimir Putin, said there were more and more signs Europe was preparing for military action each week.

"Going to war does not happen in one step," he told Kossuth Radio, adding Europe was increasingly being drawn into the war in Ukraine.

"There are three stages: discussion, preparation and destruction. Now we are finishing the discussion and we are in the preparation stage. We are inches away from destruction," he said.

Despite EU-wide condemnation and opposition towards Russia's invasion, Mr Orban has attempted to strengthen bilateral relations with Moscow.

He has opposed many EU initiatives to support Ukraine in resisting Moscow's forces, while posing for a photo-op with Mr Putin in October.

Mr Orban was alone among Western leaders to congratulate Mr Putin's re-election, despite some EU ministers calling the vote a sham.

Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weaponry to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, according to two US officials familiar with the matter.

The officials underscored that the US policy calling on Ukraine not to use American-provided long-range missiles and other munitions to strike inside Russia offensively has not changed.

However, PBS's Nick Schifrin said the decision comes into effect today - meaning Ukraine can now use "artillery and GMLRs to target Russian military targets across the border in the Belgorod region, including command and control, arms depots, Russian troops, Russian artillery, Russian missiles".

Russia opened a second front in the Kharkiv region at the start of this month, attacking from the northern border as well as the east.

As a result, an increasing number of allies have said Ukraine must be able to defend itself by attacking targets in Russian territory.

Since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Mr Biden has been steadfast in his opposition to the Ukrainians using American-made weaponry offensively out of concern that the action could be seen as provocative and lead to Moscow widening the war.

Read our full report on Biden's decision here...

Russia's defence ministry said it shot down five Ukraine-launchedmissiles and 29 drones over the southern Russian Krasnodarregion.

An oil depot in the Krasnodar regionwas on fire and people were injured, the regional governor said.

Meanwhile, employees at several businesses inRussia's Tatarstan region and its administrative centre of Kazanhave been evacuated for safety reasons, Russian state newsagencies reported.

Airports in the cities of Kazan and Nizhnekamsk in the sameregion imposed temporary flight restrictions forsafety reasons this morning, said a representative for Rosaviatsia, the country'saviation regulator.

Unverified videos on social media showed drones flying overthe Tatarstan region where both cities are located.