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US says Russia escalates conflict in Ukraine by deploying North Koreans

US says Russia escalates conflict in Ukraine by deploying North Koreans

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The United States said on Monday it was Russia that had escalated the conflict in Ukraine by deploying North Korean troops, after the Kremlin warned that Washington would deepen its involvement in the war by allowing Kiev’s forces to attack Russia from far away. US-made weapons.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller declined to confirm at a briefing that President Joe Biden’s outgoing administration had decided to authorize the strikes, but reiterated that the United States “will always adapt and adjust the capabilities we provide to Ukraine when appropriate.” “

Reuters reported on Sunday that the Biden administration had decided to allow Ukraine to carry out the attacks; U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the move was a response to the presence of North Korean troops in the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that the outgoing administration was fueling the fire and trying to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

Citing media reports, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said at a Security Council meeting on Monday that the Biden administration had given “suicidal permissions for Zelenskiy to use long-range weapons to attack Russia.”

“Maybe Joe Biden has nothing left to lose for many reasons, but we are astounded by the shortsightedness of the British and French leadership,” he said.

“They are eager to play into the hands of the current administration and are dragging not only their own country, but the whole of Europe into a large-scale tension that will have serious consequences,” Nebenzia said. he added.

Earlier Monday, Miller said it was Russia that had repeatedly escalated the conflict, pointing to the 11,000 North Korean troops the United States said had been deployed and were clashing with Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region.

“This is a major escalation of Russia bringing an Asian military into a conflict within Europe,” Miller said, adding that the US response would be harsh. “We will continue to do what is appropriate to hold Russia accountable for its actions, including its actions that escalate tensions, and North Korea for its actions that escalate tensions.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy told reporters at the United Nations that the presence of North Korean troops was a “major, major tension” and vowed to put Ukraine in the strongest position possible.

(Reporting by Simon Lewis; Additional reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and David Brunnstrom; Editing by Sandra Maler and Bill Berkrot)