Ukraine-Russia war latest: Biden allows Zelensky to conduct long-range missile strikes inside Russia

Ukraine’s air force said on Monday that it shot down eight out of 11 Russian drones during an overnight attack.

Ukraine’s military lost three more drones on its radars, according to the statement on the Telegram messaging app.

Russia also used two Iskander-M ballistic missiles and one Kh-59 guided missile to attack the country, the air force said.

Ukraine’s foreign minister Andrii Sybiha has taken a thinly-veiled dig at German chancellor Olaf Scholz after he held a phone call with Russian president Vladimir Putin on Friday.

“Russia launched one of the largest air attacks: drones and missiles against peaceful cities, sleeping civilians, critical infrastructure,” Mr Sybiha wrote on X on Sunday morning.

“This is war criminal Putin’s true response to all those who called and visited him recently. We need peace through strength, not appeasement.”

He appeared to be taking direct aim at Mr Scholz following his discussiong with Putin, in which he called for Russian forces to retreat from Ukraine and for Moscow and Kyiv to open talks for a “just and lasting peace”.

Donald Trump Jr has ridiculed president Joe Biden’s decision to allow Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to target Russian territory, calling the move “idiotic”.

In a post on X, Trump Jr described the Biden administration as “imbeciles” for endorsing the policy, which has stirred further tensions in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.

He suggested that the decision, which permits Kyiv to strike within Russia’s borders, was being driven by the interests of the military-industrial complex, warning that it could escalate the situation towards world war.

“The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives,” he wrote.

President-elect Donald Trump has long been vocal in his opposition to US involvement in the Ukraine conflict. He has frequently criticised the level of US aid to Ukraine, describing Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky as “the greatest salesman on earth” and promising to end America’s involvement in the war if he were to return to office.

The Nordic nations of Sweden, Norway, and Finland have begun distributing informational guides to their citizens, detailing how to prepare for emergencies, including potential war, amid heightened tensions with Russia, reported BBC.

The initiative follows increased fears of conflict in the region after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine.

Starting 18 November, Swedish households will receive pamphlets outlining steps to take in a “worsening security situation”.

Finland has opted for a digital guide to minimise costs, while Norway has already delivered 2.2 million printed copies—one to every household—according to the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection.

The pamphlets, updated from previous editions, include advice on securing food, medication, and other essentials, while underscoring the countries’ readiness to defend themselves. Sweden’s guide states: “If Sweden is attacked by another country, we will never give up. All information to the effect that resistance is to cease is false.”

Foreign secretary David Lammy will chair a UN Security Council vote on Sudan to push for a ceasefire as the UK announces it is doubling its aid for those affected by the war in the north-east African nation.

Mr Lammy will arrive at the UN in New York on Monday during the UK’s presidency of the UN Security Council.

He will chair a vote on a UK-Sierra Leone-penned draft UN Security Council resolution on Sudan to push for a national ceasefire, the protection of civilians and the unrestricted passage of aid.

Report:

Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said on Monday that the administration of president Joe Biden was risking World War Three if it had allowed Ukraine to use US-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.

“These guys, Biden’s administration, is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office,” Ms Butina told Reuters.

“I have a great hope that (Donald) Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War Three which is not in anybody’s interest.”

Reuters, citing two US officials and a source familiar with the decision, reported on Sunday that Biden’s administration has made the decision to allow Ukraine to make the strikes with US weapons deep into Russia.

In a secret factory in central Russia, engineers are manufacturing hundreds of decoy drones meant to overwhelm Ukrainian defences as they try to protect against a horrific new weapon.

The plant in Russia’s Alabuga Special Economic Zone recently started churning out thermobaric drones alongside the decoys, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The thermobaric warheads create a vortex of high pressure and heat that can penetrate thick walls. They suck out all the oxygen in their path, and have a fearsome reputation because of the injuries inflicted even outside the initial blast site: Collapsed lungs, crushed eyeballs, brain damage.

Read this joint report from my colleagues Emma Burrows, Hanna Arhirova, Lori Hinnant:

Sir Keir Starmer has said “we need to double down” on support for Ukraine as it was reported Joe Biden has given the green light to Kyiv to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.

The prime minister pledged that Ukraine was “top” of his agenda at this week’s G20 summit of world leaders and told reporters that “there’s got to be full support as long as it takes”.

There has been concern about the level of support the US may continue to give Ukraine when president-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House in January.

More here:

German chancellor Olaf Scholz has said his call with Putin was necessary to ensure Europe remained a key player following Donald Trump’s election.

In their first direct communication in nearly two years, Scholz told Putin that he “cannot count on support from Germany, Europe and many others in the world waning”.

But Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky said it was a breach of Western solidarity in favour of domestic political advantage.

Following Russia’s huge missile attack on Ukraine overnight on Sunday, Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha took a dig at Scholz, saying the attack was Putin’s “true response to all those who called and visited him recently”.

Scholz added of the call: “The conversation was very detailed but contributed to a recognition that little has changed in the Russian President’s views of the war - and that’s not good news.”

But Donald Trump’s re-election, and his promise of a quick end to the war, has implications for Europe, Scholz said.

“In my view it would not be a good idea if there were talks between the American and Russian presidents and the leader of an important European country was not also doing so,” he said.

The United States will allow Ukraine to use US-made weapons such as Atacms rockets, which have a range of up to 306km, to strike deep into Russia, two US officials and a source familiar with the decision said on Sunday.

The reversal of policy, nearly 1,000 days since Russia started its full-scale invasion on Ukraine, comes largely in response to Russia’s deployment of North Korean troops to supplement its forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a US official and a source familiar with the decision told Reuters.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, but some Russian senior lawmakers said loosening of the limits on Ukraine’s use of US weapons is a major escalation.

President Vladimir Putin said in September that the step would mean “direct involvement of Nato countries” in the war.