In a notable shift in policy, President Joe Biden’s administration has given Ukraine the green light to deploy American-made weaponry for targeted strikes deep within Russian territory. This information has surfaced through two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision, marking a significant pivot in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
According to these sources, Ukraine is gearing up to perform its inaugural long-range strikes in the very near future, although specific details remain undisclosed for security reasons.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has stated that these missiles “will speak for themselves,” following the reports about the U.S. authorization. “Currently, many media outlets are saying we’ve received permission to act. But let me clarify: strikes are not made with words. You won’t see announcements regarding this. The missiles will indeed convey our message,” he noted in his evening address.
The White House, however, has opted to remain mum on the subject.
This policy adjustment comes in the wake of a devastating Russian assault that has caused significant damage to Ukraine’s already fragile energy infrastructure, prompting the government to implement nationwide emergency power restrictions. During this attack, tragically, nine civilians lost their lives.
President Zelensky reported that Russia unleashed a staggering barrage of 120 missiles and almost 100 drones aimed at various regions, including Kyiv, as well as southern, central, and far-western areas of the nation.
Casualties were confirmed in the Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa regions, and officials in Kyiv described this assault as one of the most chaotic waves of attacks since the onset of the nearly three-year-long Russian invasion.
Yuriy Ignat, spokesperson for Ukraine’s air force, summarized the chaos on social media with the phrase “a hellish night,” noting that Kyiv successfully intercepted and downed “144 targets.” Meanwhile, the state energy firm, Ukrenergo, announced the implementation of emergency protocols across all regions.
“As of tomorrow, 18 November, we will enforce consumption restrictions in all regions,” Ukrenergo communicated on social media, explaining that these measures are a direct consequence of today’s catastrophic missile and drone assault.
Over the nearly three-year-long conflict, half of Ukraine’s power-generating capacity has been decimated, Mr. Zelensky emphasized. As the bitterly cold winter approaches, the nation faces severe energy shortages, and its under-resourced military has been ceding ground to Russian forces for weeks.
This major Russian onslaught arrived shortly after German Chancellor Olaf Scholz made a rare outreach to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, calling for an end to the prolonged offensive. Ukraine’s government took a strong stance against this diplomatic overture, asserting that the Kremlin’s countenance represented the true Russian response to calls for peace.
Andriy Sybiga, Ukraine’s foreign minister, criticized the attempt, asserting, “This is a war criminal’s true response to all who recently reached out to him. We advocate for peace through strength, not capitulation.”
Chancellor Scholz defended his communication with Putin, reaffirming Germany’s steadfast support for Ukraine. “Ukraine can count on us,” he stated before attending a G20 meeting in Brazil, reassuring allies that “no decision will be made regarding ending the conflict without consulting Ukraine.”
However, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk joined the chorus of criticism. “Let’s be clear: phone calls won’t deter Putin. Last night’s monumental attack has proven that mere diplomatic engagement cannot replace robust Western support for Ukraine,” he declared on X.
This latest wave of strikes led to widespread power outages across Ukraine, amplifying fears of a harsh winter ahead. “We faced a massive assault on our territory,” Mr. Zelensky commented. “Over the past week, the aggressor unleashed nearly 140 missiles of various kinds, over 900 guided air-to-surface bombs, and more than 600 drones, attempting to intimidate us through cold and blackouts.”
In their reports, AFP journalists noted explosions rattling Kyiv and nearby Sloviansk in the Donetsk region during the early hours of the attack. Meanwhile, Russian officials claimed they had hit all operational targets, citing that their focus lay on essential energy infrastructure crucial to Ukraine’s military capabilities.
Nevertheless, civilian casualties were tragically documented across the country. In Kherson, local officials reported the death of a 51-year-old woman due to a drone strike. In Mykolaiv, two women perished, and seven individuals, including two children, sustained injuries during nighttime assaults. Additionally, the Dnipropetrovsk governor reported that two employees of Ukrzaliznytsia lost their lives when a depot was struck, with three others injured.
More fatalities were recorded in the Odesa region, where a teenager was also hurt. The drone strikes even ventured into Zakarpattia, a mountainous region that has rarely faced such attacks, with fragments landing in the village of Pavshyno, close to the borders of Hungary and Slovakia.
In a particularly tragic turn, Maksym Kozytsky, head of the Lviv region, reported that a 66-year-old woman was killed in her car in Sheptytsky, approximately 20 kilometers from Poland. In response to this alarming escalation, NATO-member Poland scrambled its fighter jets and mobilized all available resources, putting its armed forces on heightened alert to defend against potential threats to its own territory.
Turning the spotlight back to Russia, in the Kursk region—where Kyiv has managed to maintain control over significant areas of Russian-held land—a local journalist purportedly fell victim to a Ukrainian drone strike, as confirmed by officials. Kursk leader Alexei Smirnov stated that Yulia Kuznetsova, the editor of a local publication, was killed in an incident while handling archives.
Amid the chaos, reports suggest a continued presence of North Korean soldiers within Russian ranks, bolstering Moscow’s military manpower. Russia, too, claimed one individual had been killed by a Ukrainian drone in its Belgorod region. The situation remains precarious, with ongoing endeavors for peace clouded by intensifying conflict.
Edited by: Ali Musa
alimusa@axadletimes.com
Axadle international–Monitoring
