Russia staged “a massive information-psychological attack” against Ukraine by spreading a fake warning, purportedly from Ukrainian military intelligence, about an imminent mass air attack, Kyiv’s top spy agency said on Wednesday.
“A message is being spread via messengers and social networks … about the threat of a ‘particularly massive’ missile and bomb strike on Ukrainian cities today,” the Main Directorate of Intelligence said in a statement.
“This message is a fake, it contains grammatical errors typical of Russian information and psychological operations.”
The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv announced it was shutting down Wednesday after receiving warning of a potentially “significant” Russian air attack and was closing “out of an abundance of caution.”
In a statement, the embassy also instructed employees to shelter in place and recommended that U.S. citizens in Ukraine’s capital be prepared to immediately shelter in the event of an air alert.
Ukraine: The U.S. Embassy in Kyiv received specific information of a potential significant air attack on Nov 20. The Embassy will be closed and recommends U.S. citizens be prepared to immediately shelter in the event an air alert is announced. https://t.co/ah0bpDfULK pic.twitter.com/m8cWXCXT2V
The Italian and Greek embassies in Kyiv said they had also closed their doors after the U.S. warning, while the French Embassy remained open but urged its citizens to be cautious. The German Embassy has “limited operations” in the city and will not be providing consular services until further notice, Germany’s Federal Foreign Office said.
The Canadian Embassy in the capital has “temporarily suspended in-person services due to the security situation,” said a government statement online.
The U.S. warning was unusual for its specificity as Russian air attacks have become a common, near-daily occurrence in Ukraine.
But it came one day after Moscow said U.S.-made longer range missiles had been used in a Ukrainian attack that struck a weapons warehouse in the Bryansk region after U.S. President Joe Biden authorized their use.
Russian President Vladimir lowered the threshold for using his nuclear arsenal, with a revised doctrine announced Tuesday permitting a potential nuclear response by Moscow even to a conventional attack on Russia by any nation that is supported by a nuclear power. That could potentially include Ukrainian attacks backed by the U.S.
Western leaders dismissed the Russian move as an attempt to deter Ukraine’s allies from providing further support to Kyiv, but the escalating tension weighed on stock markets after Ukraine used American-made longer-range missiles known as ATACMS for the first time to strike a target inside Russia.
Putin said in September that if Western countries allow Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia with their longer-range weapons, “it will mean that NATO countries, the U.S., European countries are at war with Russia.”
“And if it is the case, then, bearing in mind the change of the very essence of the conflict, we will be making appropriate decisions based on threats that will be posed to us,” Putin said.
American-supplied landmines approved
On Wednesday, U.S. Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin said the Biden administration will allow Ukraine to use American-supplied anti-personnel landmines to help fight off Russian forces. Speaking to reporters during a trip to Laos, he said the shift in policy follows changing tactics by the Russians.
Austin said Russian ground troops are leading the movement on the battlefield, often without the extra protection of an armoured vehicle, so Ukraine has “a need for things that can help slow down that effort on the part of the Russians.”
Russia has recently escalated air attacks, launching complex combined drone and missile barrages to target energy infrastructure this week as temperatures begin to drop.
After nearly three years of bombardments, many Ukrainians welcome having the ability to strike back deeper into Russian territory as the U.S. is warned not to further escalate the war.
Military analysts say the U.S. decision on the range over which American-made missiles can be used isn’t expected to be a game-changer in the war, but it could help weaken the Russian war effort, according to the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington think-tank.
“Ukrainian long-range strikes against military objects within Russia’s rear are crucial for degrading Russian military capabilities throughout the theatre,” it said.
After confirming Ukraine struck Russian territory using long-range missiles provided by the U.S., the Kremlin announced it was lowering its threshold for using nuclear weapons.
