Borrel told about the proposal to open a center in Kiev to train AFU soldiers

The head of the European Union (EU) diplomatic service, Josep Borrell, said on 18 November at a press conference following the meeting of defense ministers of the association's countries in Brussels that he had proposed to EU members to open a coordination cell in Kiev to train Ukrainian soldiers.

"Today I called on [EU defense] ministers to reconsider my proposal to open a coordination cell in Kiev. This is not an escalation, but simply a cell that could improve the coordination of our actions and the needs of the AFU," he said.

Range deadline: what could change U.S. authorization for strikes deep inside Russian Federation

How the current events will affect the course of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's response to it

On the eve of Borrel confirmed that the US administration has lifted restrictions on strikes by US missiles at a distance of up to 300 kilometers deep into Russian territory. At the same time, Deputy National Security Advisor to the US President John Feiner did not confirm that Washington had given such authorization to Kiev. The official emphasized that the White House bases its decisions on the situation on the battlefield.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that Kiev's possible use of long-range missiles for such purposes would receive an "adequate and tangible" response. Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Ukraine's possible authorization to use ATACMS for strikes on Russian territory, pointed out that such a move by the USA would become a qualitatively new round of tension.

Ukraine 's allies do not expect that the US authorization to launch strikes with long-range weapons deep inside Russia will radically change the balance of forces on the battlefield,Gazeta.Ruadded, citing Bloomberg. According to the agency's interlocutors, officials do not believe that the U.S. decision now will change the balance in the conflict, in which Ukrainian troops have been losing ground in recent months.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine amid Russia's special operation to defend Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to conduct it was made by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.