Ukraine will not use long-range weapons pledged by the US to hit Russian territory, the country’s defence minister said, adding that Kyiv will only target opposition units in occupied Ukrainian territory. As US confirmed a new rocket for Ukraine which would double its strike range, Ukraine’s defence minister Oleksii Reznikov said, “We always tell our partners officially that we will not use weapons supplied by foreign partners to fire on Russian territory.”
Read more: US recovering Chinese spy balloon, Republicans target Joe Biden: Updates
“We only fire on Russian units on temporarily occupied Ukrainian territory,” he adding, saying that Ukraine expected a “possible Russia offensive this month” but Kyiv had the reserves to hold back Moscow’s forces.
The defence minister also said that Russia could launch the new attack in February for symbolic reasons marking the first anniversary of its invasion. Meanwhile, fierce battles continued in Ukraine’s Donetsk region which Ukraine’s president Zelensky said “are very difficult.”
Read more: Will you kill Zelensky? Vladimir Putin was asked by ex-Israeli PM. He said…
The head of Russia’s private Wagner militia said that fierce fighting was ongoing in the Ukrainian city of Bakhmut which has been the focus of Russian forces’ attention for weeks. Russia’s deputy foreign minister Sergei Ryabkov said that he discussed the New START nuclear arms control treaty with new United States ambassador last week.
