US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer yesterday discussed whether to let Kyiv use long-range missiles against Russia, in the two allies’ likely last meeting before an election that could upend US policy on Ukraine.
Starmer’s visit comes with Kyiv pushing London and Washington to lift the restriction and a warning from Russian President Vladimir Putin that giving Ukraine the green light would mean NATO was “at war” with Russia.
UK media reported that Biden, who is wary of provoking a nuclear conflict, was ready to let Ukraine deploy UK and French missiles using US technology, but not US-made missiles themselves.
Responding to Putin’s warning, Starmer told UK media traveling with him that “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.”
In a sign of increasing tensions, Russia’s FSB security service announced yesterday that the accreditation of six British diplomats had been withdrawn.
“As a measure of reprisals to the multiple unfriendly acts of London, the Russian foreign ministry … has withdrawn the accreditation of six employees from the political department of the British embassy in Moscow,” it said.
A statement accused them of carrying out “subversive activities and intelligence” gathering.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv promised that Washington would quickly review Kyiv’s long-standing request and would “adjust, we’ll adapt as necessary” to help Ukraine defend itself.
Washington currently authorizes Ukraine to only hit Russian targets in the occupied parts of Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly related to Moscow’s combat operations.
However, Putin, who has rattled the saber of nuclear conflict since the start of his February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, warned the US and UK against such a move.
“This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict. It would mean that NATO countries, the US, European countries, are at war with Russia,” he said on Thursday.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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