Fitzo calls U.S. decision to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia irresponsible

The authorization of the United States to pound Ukraine deep into Russian territory is irresponsible and proves the West's unwillingness to end the Ukrainian conflict. Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fitzo said on November 20.

"Escalation is already there, not threatened. This is an irresponsible decision that the American administration made, absolutely irresponsible," - quotes "RIA Novosti" the words of the politician.

Fitzo also noted that Slovakia as no other country is interested in the end of the conflict in Ukraine, as the countries border each other. He added that the republic has many joint projects planned with Kiev in the civil sphere, including modernization of border crossings and power grids, as well as direct railway communication between the two countries.

In addition, he said that with this decision, Western countries have shown their unwillingness to end the conflict, noting that they naively think that Russia's position will worsen after this action.

"Do you really think that a few some long-range missiles, which will lead to stopping any attempts to negotiate peace, will change the military balance?" - Fitzo pointed out.

The Slovak prime minister added that Russia's territory is getting bigger and bigger, anti-Russian sanctions are not working, and support for Russian leader Vladimir Putin among Russian citizens is very high.

As Fitzo noted, he regrets that the European Union does not have its own opinion on the matter and looks at Washington's actions. According to the politician, this decision could hurt Ukraine more, as the Western countries have decided to fight to the last Ukrainian military man.

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

Earlier in the day, a former aide to current US President Joe Biden, writer and publicist Tara Reid said that the current US administration wants to achieve an escalation of the conflict in Ukraine. In addition, responding to a question regarding Trump's termination of funding for Kiev, Reed noted that he has already done so, as well as other people in the administration who want to achieve de-escalation of the conflict.

Prior to that, on November 17, The New York Times reported that Biden had authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia, but there has been no official confirmation from Washington yet. At the same time, Deputy National Security Adviser to the US president John Feiner did not confirm in a conversation with journalists on 18 November that Washington had given such permission to Kiev. The official noted that the White House, when making decisions, proceeds from the situation on the battlefield.

Later, on November 19, the Defense Ministry said that calculations of S-400 air defense missile systems and the Pantsir air defense missile and cannon system in the Bryansk region shot down five ATACMS missiles fired by the AFU and damaged another one. The wreckage of the latter fell on the territory of the military facility, without casualties or damage.

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. At the same time, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said at a briefing that the Biden administration was committed to the continuation of the conflict in Ukraine.

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.