The United States and several European countries closed their embassies in Kyiv on Wednesday due to fears of a massive Russian rocket attack, as Ukraine reportedly hit Russia for the first time with Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied by Britain.
The US, Italy, Spain and Greece temporarily shut their diplomatic missions in the Ukrainian capital amid concerns over Moscow’s response to Ukraine’s strike on Tuesday against an arms depot in the Russian region of Bryansk. It was the first attack on Russian territory using long-range Atacms ballistic missiles delivered by Washington.
“The US embassy in Kyiv has received specific information of a potential significant air attack… Out of an abundance of caution, the embassy will be closed, and embassy employees are being instructed to shelter in place,” the mission said in a statement.
Later on Wednesday, US state department spokesperson Matthew Miller said it expected its embassy in Kyiv to return to normal operations on Thursday.
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Ukraine’s foreign ministry suggested the threat of a major Russian strike was no greater than at any other time since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in February 2022, and its GUR military intelligence agency said warnings circulating in its name on social media were part of a Russian “psychological attack” against Ukrainians.
Ministry spokesman Heorhii Tykhyi said it was “in constant contact with partners regarding potential security threats. We remind you that threats of shelling from the aggressor state are, unfortunately, a daily reality for Ukrainians for more than a thousand days.
“We believe it would be correct for partners to react on the 1,001st day in the same way as on the previous 1,000 days, without any additional information escalation.”
GUR accused Russia of “conducting a massive information and psychological attack against Ukraine” with warnings in Ukrainian on social media of a huge missile strike.
“This message is a fake,” GUR said. “The enemy, unable to subjugate Ukrainians by force, resorts to measures of intimidation and psychological pressure on society…Do not ignore air-raid alerts… However, we urge you not to panic.”
Mobile phone footage posted on social media on Wednesday purportedly from the Russian border region of Kursk appeared to record the sound of several incoming missiles followed by a string of loud explosions and the sight of smoke rising above nearby buildings.
Russian military bloggers said the video showed Ukraine’s first attack with British-supplied Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets inside Russia. Kyiv did not immediately comment on the alleged strikes but several international media outlets quoted unnamed western officials as confirming that the weapons had been used.
Kyiv asked for months to be allowed to use Atacms and Storm Shadow against military targets inside Russia, but the US refused due to fears of “escalating” Europe’s biggest war since 1945, and Britain would not give clearance without Washington’s approval.
The deployment of North Korean troops to fight alongside Russian forces in Kursk region is believed to have been a major factor in Washington’s policy change, as well as Kyiv’s struggle to hold on to territory seized this summer in Kursk region while also fighting a rearguard action against Moscow’s invasion force in eastern Ukraine.
Russian president Vladimir Putin has said Ukraine’s use of long-range western-supplied missiles against targets inside Russia would signify that Nato countries were directly involved in the war. On Tuesday, he updated Russia’s nuclear doctrine to lower the threshold for a nuclear strike on an adversary.
“The military-political elites of the West are becoming increasingly aware of the seriousness of Russia’s intentions and the need for greater restraint in their actions in order to avoid getting involved in a direct military conflict with our country, which could lead to catastrophic consequences for them,” Russia’s foreign intelligence chief Sergei Naryshkin said on Wednesday.
