Lavrov: "Strikes on Bryansk region with ATACMS missiles are signal that West wants escalation"
Russia believes that Ukraine's strikes using US ATACMS missiles on a military facility in the Bryansk region are a signal that the West wants an escalation.
According to Censor.NET, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said this at a press conference following his participation in the Group of Twenty (G20) summit, as quoted by Russian media.
"The fact that ATACMS was used repeatedly in the Bryansk region last night is, of course, a signal that they (the West - ed.) want an escalation. And it is impossible to use these high-tech missiles without the Americans, as Putin has repeatedly said," he said.
According to the Russian minister, Russian dictator Putin has already warned Western countries about how the Kremlin's position will change if "this range they are now talking about, up to 300 kilometers, is approved."
"In fact, this is not an approval for Ukraine to use long-range missiles. This is just an announcement that we will now hit up to 300 kilometers," Lavrov added.
Explosions in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation
Earlier it was reported that on the night of November 19, the 67th arsenal of the Russian GRU was hit in Bryansk Oblast, and in Rostov Oblast, local authorities reported a drone attack. Subsequently, the General Staff officially confirmed that an ammunition depot in the Bryansk region of the Russian Federation had been hit.
Yuriy Butusov, editor-in-chief of Censor.NET, said that after Biden's authorization, for the first time in history, the Ukrainian Armed Forces struck a military facility in Russia with US-made ATACMS ballistic missiles.
Authorization for strikes on Russian territory
As a reminder, current US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to launch long-range ATACMS missiles at Russian territory.
CNN noted that Biden's authorization to fire long-range missiles at Russia would complicateTrump's plans for a truce.
Axios writes that Biden's lifting of restrictions on long-range strikes applies only to the Kursk region of Russia.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said that Ukraine's use of long-range ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory would mean "direct participation of the United States and its satellites in hostilities against Russia."
