'Bloody Joe' Biden has taken 'big step towards WW3' with decision to let Kyiv strike inside Russia with long-range missiles, Moscow declares as officials threaten 'harshest response' and warn UK and France not to follow suit

Senior Russian politicians person declared President Joe Biden has taken a 'big measurement towards World War Three' aft his medication reportedly gave the greenish airy for Ukraine to blast targets wrong Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles.  

The decision, which came connected the eve of the 1000th time of warfare successful Ukraine amid the dying days of the Biden administration, heralded a torrent of apocalyptic warnings from Russian lawmakers. 

'This is simply a precise large measurement towards the opening of the Third World War,' said Putin-loyalist Vladimir Dzhabarov, lawman president of the overseas affairs committee of the precocious location and a retired information work general.

He slammed the determination from Biden - 'a departing aged antheral who volition nary longer beryllium liable for thing successful 2 months'.

Hardline Liberal-Democatic enactment person Leonid Slutsky said: 'Biden has seemingly decided to extremity his statesmanlike word and spell down successful past arsenic Bloody Joe.

'It volition mean lone 1 happening - nonstop US information successful the subject struggle successful Ukraine, which volition inevitably entail the harshest effect from Russia, based connected the threats that volition beryllium created for our country.'

Russian legislator Andrey Klishas said: 'The West has decided connected a level of escalation that could extremity with the remnants of Ukraine wholly losing their statehood.'

Putin himself is yet to respond to the large alteration successful Western policy.

But successful October, helium warned that long-range rocket strikes connected his territory would mean the West was 'at warfare with Russia' due to the fact that lone NATO specialists - and not Ukrainians - could hole these missiles onto their targets. 

'If this is the case, then, bearing successful caput the alteration successful the precise essence of this conflict, we volition marque due decisions based connected the threats that volition beryllium posed to us,' Putin said.

One Russian authoritative urged Britain and France to garbage to travel the Biden administration's tack by allowing Ukraine to deploy Storm Shadow and SCALP long-range missiles successful Russia. 

Unconfirmed reports from Le Figaro indicated some London and Paris were considering their presumption aft months of having refused Zelensky's pleas to usage the fearsome munitions connected Russian targets.

Senior Russian diplomat Mikhail Ulyanov, the Kremlin's imperishable typical to planetary organisations successful Vienna, said: 'They person a accidental to reconsider their presumption if they are genuinely acrophobic astir European security.

'There is nary longer country for primitive governmental games.'

Downing Street is yet to contented a effect to Biden's decision, which has not been officially announced but has been wide reported successful the US.

But Sir Keir Starmer said 'we request to treble down' connected enactment for Ukraine and the contented was 'top' of his docket astatine this week's G20 acme of satellite leaders successful Brazil.

Biden volition beryllium astatine the gathering, portion Russia volition beryllium represented by overseas curate Sergei Lavrov.

In the US, Biden's determination riled supporters of President-elect Donald Trump, who pledged to bounds American enactment for Ukraine and extremity the warfare arsenic soon arsenic possible.

Trump's oldest son, Donald Trump Jr, posted connected X aft Biden's determination was announced, saying that 'the subject concern analyzable seems to privation to marque definite they get World War 3 going earlier my begetter has a accidental to make bid and prevention lives'.

David Sacks, a tech millionaire who was a large donor for Trump's statesmanlike campaigner, added that Biden permitting Ukraine to usage US-supplied missiles successful Russia would 'massively escalate' the situation. 

'President Trump won a wide mandate to extremity the warfare successful Ukraine. So what does Biden bash successful his last 2 months successful office? Massively escalate it. Is his extremity to manus Trump the worst concern possible?' Sacks said. 

Ukraine plans to behaviour its archetypal long-range attacks successful the coming days, according to respective sources. The archetypal heavy strikes are reportedly apt to beryllium carried retired utilizing ATACMS rockets, which person a scope of up to 190 miles. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that the reports astir Biden's argumentation alteration - which reportedly would authorise the usage of Western missiles to onslaught targets successful the Kursk portion lone - had not been openly confirmed by the White House but said the 'missiles volition talk for themselves'.

Zelensky had been pressing Biden for months to let his state to onslaught subject targets deeper wrong Russia with US-supplied missiles, saying the prohibition had made it intolerable for Kyiv to effort to halt Russian attacks connected its cities and electrical grids.

Former elder NATO authoritative Nicholas Williams called the determination to let Ukraine to occurrence US-supplied missiles into Russia 'significant successful presumption of the extremity game'. 

'It is significant. The Ukrainians whitethorn accidental it's excessively small excessively precocious but it's not excessively precocious to impact the extremity game,' helium told Sky News.

Williams besides said the determination was important for 'positioning Ukraine to not marque the important concessions which Russia wants successful bid to get peace'.

The weapons are apt to beryllium utilized successful effect to North Korea's determination to nonstop thousands of troops to Russia successful enactment of Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to sources.  

Around 10,000 soldiers from the pariah authorities person joined the combat to reclaim Kursk, parts of which Ukraine seized successful a daring antagonistic violative successful August. 

Biden hopes that this effect volition 'send a message' to Kim Jong Un not to nonstop immoderate more, sources said.

Russia is acceptable to launch a large battle with immoderate 50,000 soldiers to retake Kursk. 

The ATACMS missiles tin strikes Russian and North Korean unit concentrations, cardinal pieces of subject equipment, logistics nodes, ammunition depots and proviso lines heavy wrong Russia.

Zelensky has repeatedly argued that being capable to onslaught wrong Russia would blunt Moscow's advances and disrupt its quality to motorboat devastating rocket attacks connected Kyiv.

Britain tried to array a program to let Ukraine to usage UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, but they are reliant connected US navigation systems to beryllium effectual and Washington blocked the move.

Zelensky has been pressing Biden for months to let Ukraine to onslaught subject targets deeper wrong Russia with US-supplied missiles, saying the prohibition had made it intolerable for Ukraine to effort to halt Russian attacks connected its cities and electrical grids.

While immoderate US officials person expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes volition alteration the war's wide trajectory, the determination could assistance Ukraine astatine a infinitesimal erstwhile Russian forces are making gains and perchance enactment Kyiv successful a amended negotiating presumption erstwhile and if ceasefire talks happen.

Biden had remained opposed until now, determined to clasp the enactment against immoderate escalation that helium felt could gully the US and different NATO members into nonstop struggle with Russia. 

But North Korea has deployed thousands of troops to Russia to assistance Moscow effort to claw backmost onshore successful the Kursk borderline portion that Ukraine seized this year, which could person contributed to Biden changing his mind. 

The instauration of North Korean troops to the struggle comes arsenic Moscow has seen a favorable displacement successful momentum. Trump has signaled that helium could propulsion Ukraine to hold to springiness up immoderate onshore seized by Russia to find an extremity to the conflict.

As galore arsenic 12,000 North Korean troops person been sent to Russia, according to US, South Korean and Ukrainian assessments. 

US and South Korean quality officials accidental North Korea besides has provided Russia with important amounts of munitions to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

It is not wide if Trump volition reverse Biden's determination erstwhile helium takes bureau successful January. 

US officials briefed the New York Times on Biden's determination successful the aftermath of 1 of Russia's biggest aerial bombardments of Ukraine successful the warfare connected Saturday night.

NATO was forced to scramble the Polish and Romanian aerial unit arsenic implicit 200 missiles and drones aimed to hitch retired their eastbound neighbour's vigor grid, causing blackouts crossed the country.

On Saturday night, Putin launched a devastating salvo of 120 cruise and ballistic missiles arsenic good arsenic 90 drones that killed astatine slightest 10.

Terrified Ukrainian civilians were seen cowering successful weaponry shelters successful Kyiv arsenic portion aerial defences changeable down dozens of missiles 'severe damage' was inflicted connected the powerfulness grid.

The country's vigor relation DTEK announced exigency powerfulness cuts astatine astir 7am UK clip connected Sunday greeting affecting the Kyiv, Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions pursuing overnight drone strikes.

It said soon thereafter thermal powerfulness plants had been struck by Putin's latest fusillade. The level of harm was not instantly clear.

Air defences were deployed overnight to intercept drones successful Kyiv arsenic residents were urged to instrumentality cover, portion missiles bound for the westbound of the stricken state prompted NATO to nonstop retired its warplanes to assist. 

'Due to the monolithic onslaught by the Russian Federation utilizing cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles connected objects located, among others, successful occidental Ukraine, Polish and allied [NATO] craft person begun operating successful our airspace,' the Polish operational bid said successful a statement.

'On-duty combatant pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based aerial defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest authorities of readiness. The steps taken are aimed astatine ensuring information successful areas bordering the threatened areas.'

The ferocious overnight onslaught came 24 hours aft German Chancellor Olaf Scholz extended an olive subdivision to Putin for the archetypal clip since his amerciable invasion.

He called the dictator connected Friday successful an effort to unfastened a dialog connected bid plans aft Trump was swept to powerfulness successful the US promising to extremity the war. 

Trump is besides reported to person held a telephone with Putin wherever helium told him not to escalate the struggle - though the Kremlin denies this.

Polish PM Donald Tusk took purpose astatine Scholz and Trump, tweeting connected Sunday: 'No-one volition halt Putin with telephone calls.

'The onslaught past night, 1 of the biggest successful this war, has proved that telephone diplomacy cannot regenerate existent enactment from the full West for Ukraine.

'The adjacent weeks volition beryllium decisive, not lone for the warfare itself, but besides for our future.'

Starmer said helium had 'no plans' to talk to Putin, urging 'full enactment arsenic agelong arsenic it takes' arsenic helium headed to a gathering of G20 leaders successful Rio.

The Prime Minister told reporters: 'It's a substance for Chancellor Scholz who helium speaks to. I person nary plans to talk to Putin. We are coming up to the 1,000th time of this struggle connected Tuesday.

'That's 1,000 days of Russian aggression, 1,000 days of immense interaction and sacrifice successful narration to the Ukrainian radical and precocious we've seen the summation of North Korean troops moving with Russians which does person superior implications.

'I deliberation connected 1 manus it shows the desperation of Russia, spot it's got superior implications for European information [...] and for Indo-Pacific information and that's wherefore I deliberation we request to treble down connected shoring up our enactment for Ukraine and that's apical of my docket for the G20.

'There's got to beryllium afloat enactment arsenic agelong arsenic it takes and that surely is apical of my agenda, shoring up that further enactment for Ukraine.'