The Kremlin accused the US administration of continuing the conflict in Ukraine

The administration of incumbent US President Joe Biden is committed to the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said this at a briefing on 20 November.

According to him, the White House is making the necessary efforts to prolong the hostilities.

"<...> If we proceed in general from the outgoing trend demonstrated by the outgoing US administration, they are committed, fully committed to continuing the war in Ukraine and are doing everything possible to do for this in the time left for them," Peskov said in response to Izvestia's question about the supply of anti-personnel mines to Ukraine.

The Kremlin spokesman said that not only the transfer of mines, but also the US authorization given to Ukraine to hit Russian territories with ATACMS missiles corresponds to this trend. He admitted that Biden might have approved the delivery of mines to the Ukrainian side, despite the UN convention under which the use of such weapons is prohibited.

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Earlier in the day, two Ukrainian media outlets made a claim that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) had allegedly struck Russian territory inside its internationally recognized borders with ATACMS missiles. In his turn, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (whose term in office expired on May 20) declared his intention to use ATACMS in combat operations.

On November 17, The New York Times reported that Biden had allegedly authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia. At the same time, the White House did not confirm this fact.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova warned that the possible use of long-range missiles for such purposes would receive an "adequate and tangible" response.

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