TRANSCRIPT
A day after Ukraine fired US-made long-range missiles into Russia, there are reports they have used more long-range missiles aimed at targets in the Kursk border region - this time supplied by the UK.
A Russian military blog first reported the new attack, later confirmed by officials - speaking on the condition of anonymity - to Reuters, the Guardian and the Times.
Concerns over Russia's deployment of North Korean troops on the border has triggered the shift in position by UK authorities.
There was no official confirmation on the use of UK-made missiles by Ukraine's Defense Minister [[Rustem Umerov]] or the UK Ministry of Defence.
James Nixey is head of the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House in London.
He says the long-range weapons will be helpful to the Ukrainian forces, but he doesn't think they will not bring an end to the conflict.
"The Storm Shadow (missiles) have a slightly longer range, but the reality is, is that Ukraine needs quantity rather than quality…range. But the range of both missiles is enough to get behind Russian lines and into Russian infrastructure targets so that that will cut out of their supplies to their frontline. So, the actual range of each missile is not as significant as the fact that Ukraine needs them in great quantity and very fast indeed."
In another shift, US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin says the US has decided to supply Ukraine with landmines, a decision criticised by Human Rights Watch and the International Campaign to Ban Landmines due to the lingering and devastating impact they can have on civilians.
Ukraine is a signatory to the Mine Ban Treaty, which commits to banning the production, use and stockpiling of anti-personnel mines.
Mr Austin says the US has made the decision because of Russia's changing tactics on the battlefield.
US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller says he is aware of the concerns.
"These are mines that are going to be inert and de-active in at the most two weeks from now. So these don't pose a threat to civilian communities when they come back into an area after the end of a war, and you find them stepping on a landmine that they didn't know was there and shouldn't have been in their community. This is a much different situation."
Ukraine's ambassador to Australia Vasyl Myroshnychenko says Ukraine is proceeding with the use of landmines very cautiously.
"Well, 25 percent of the Ukrainian territory is already heavily mined. And I understand the concerns of the human rights groups on the landmines and anti-personnel mines. And we'll need Australia's help to help us clear Ukraine of those landmines. But before we can do it, we need to protect our country. We need to defend our country. And these landmines will be used for that purpose to stop the Russian offensive. And, of course, it's a new generation of land mines which have been used, self-destructive, and we take all the safeguards on how we're going to be using them. We're not going to be using them in densely populated areas. And, of course, because they can self-detonate (at) a certain stage, much later, that makes them much more safer than all the other mines that are out there."
Meanwhile, the US and some other Western embassies in Kyiv have temporarily closed in response to the threat of a potentially major Russian aerial attack on the Ukrainian capital.
Mr Miller says the US has taken the action as a precaution.
"The embassy put that alert out based on a possible threat of a significant attack on Kyiv, something that we take very seriously and led to the temporary change in posture at the embassy. We expect the embassy to return to normal operations tomorrow. I can't get into the specifics of the threat, but it's something that we always monitor closely. It's very important to us. We take it extremely seriously. And that's what led to the change in posture today. And we expect it to resume to resume normal operations tomorrow."
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine that were supplied by Western nations will only escalate the conflict.
Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged nations not to be hasty in closing their embassies in Kyiv.
"Today, there were a lot of nerves and questions about some kind of particular danger. Although, throughout this time, we have already experienced so many cruel and vile attacks from Russia, air raid alerts should always be heeded. Today, on the 1,001st day of a full-scale war, Russia is just as insane as it was when it launched the full-scale invasion."
Meanwhile, Mr Myroschnychenko says the participation of North Korean troops in the conflict has created more volatility.
He says this can cause destabilisation in the Indo-Pacific region - and he has urged Australia to boost its military support for Ukraine.
"This war is getting globalised. Because if you had asked me three years ago, can you imagine Russians (Ukrainians) fighting North Koreans in Russia, is it possible? Nobody could've even predicted that. But it is already happening. This is how this war is becoming globalised. This is how there's actually so much at stake for Australia, being here in the Indo-Pacific. Because we understand how North Korea can actually disrupt stability and security in the region. Therefore, the best response to this is more military support for Ukraine. Because that will be the best deterrence, and best investment in that deterrence, that Australia can make."
Global leaders continue their calls for calmer minds to prevail in the area as the conflict passes the milestone of one thousand days since Russia's full-scale invasion began.
During a press conference, Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke alongside his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
He says despite China being a close political and economic ally of Russia, China supports efforts to de-escalate the war in Ukraine and reach a political solution.
"Regarding the crisis in Ukraine, I have repeatedly emphasised that there is no simple solution to a complex issue. China and Brazil have issued a common understanding on a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis and created the Friends of Peace group on the Ukrainian crisis, together with other countries from the global South. We must bring together more voices that advocate peace and seek to enable a political solution to the crisis in Ukraine."
