Medvedev says talks distant because of AFU use of long-range missiles

Possible negotiations on the Ukrainian conflict are getting distant due to the use of long-range weapons by the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU). This was stated by Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev on November 22.

"This will not remain without consequences. It also concerns, naturally, the negotiations you mentioned, but which are still very far away, and such events only distance them. But it also concerns the general situation," he said in an interview with Al Arabiya TV channel.

Medvedev said the conflict in Ukraine could also have been ended faster and without unnecessary casualties if not for NATO's actions.

"If the NATO bloc stands on real ground, if they stop fanning the fire of war in Ukraine, this conflict can be ended without any costs for humanity. In any case, new costs," Medvedev emphasized.

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on November 21 that Ukraine had used Western long-range weapons against the Russian state, causing the regional conflict to acquire elements of a global one. He also said that the Oreshnik ballistic missile had been tested under combat conditions.

On November 17, The New York Times reported that US President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia, but there was no official confirmation from Washington. 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.

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 hold 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.