The post disappeared - without explanation

Russia's invasion of Ukraine

Took on the attack on Russia: "Burns nicely"
The post disappeared without explanation

Elliot Morseth Edvinsson

Published 00.21

 

"Burns nicely," the prime minister wrote about the picture. Then it was removed. Photo: Irina Vershtyuk/X

Ukraine claimed for the first time an attack on Russian soil with Western weapons - with the comment: "Burns nicely".

Then the post disappeared without explanation.

Last week, Joe Biden for the first time gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons against military targets in Russia, the BBC reported.

On Monday evening, Ukrainian Prime Minister Irina Vershtyuk posted a picture of X that allegedly showed a Russian air defense system in flames. "Burns nicely," she commented on the picture and continued: "It's a Russian S-300. On Russian territory”. Later the post disappeared without any explanation.

The American think tank ISW has reported images that should confirm that a Russian air defense system was allegedly attacked sometime during the weekend, probably with the American Himars missile system. The location should be six miles from the front line, north of the city of Belgorod.

"Underestimates the seriousness"

Biden's authorization to use US weapons against Russia is limited to targets close to the border. The United States is said to have been the country that refrained the longest from allowing this, of the countries that assist Ukraine with weapons. According to sources for the  BBC, it is feared that a too light-hearted attitude risks the war spreading geographically.

On Monday, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov responded that the US would face "fatal consequences" if it allowed Ukraine to use US weapons for attacks inside Russia.

- For unknown reasons, they underestimate the seriousness of the resistance they can get, he said according to The Telegraph.

Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vershtyuk. Photo: Alamy Stock

Threatening statements

Earlier in the war, most Western countries prohibited the weapons they sent from being used in cross-border attacks. But in recent weeks, several nations in addition to the United States have swung.

It prompted Russia to make threatening statements.

- This constant escalation can have fatal consequences. In Europe, mainly in small countries, one should be aware of what one is playing with, Putin said, during an official visit to Uzbekistan.

He also stated that many countries in Europe had "small territories" and that they have ”high population density".

"Know that Ukraine cannot shoot"

The Russian diplomat Konstantin Gavrilov now refers to these earlier statements when he tells regime-loyal Izvestija that "some in the West have obviously lost their minds".

- They should think through the consequences of using long-range weapons on Russian soil. There are limits to everything, he says.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has requested permission to use American ammunition for long-range attacks against Russian soil, as he believes that the Ukrainian forces at the border will be defenseless otherwise.

- They have these weapons there and they do not remove them because they know that Ukraine cannot fire at them with Western weapons even if they fire at us, he says according to The Telegraph.