FLASH
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The United States expects its embassy in Kiev to return to normal operations on Thursday after being closed on Wednesday for security reasons, State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters on Wednesday.
The embassy was closed on Wednesday and embassy staff were instructed to stay indoors in a safe location, a day after Ukraine used US missiles to strike a target inside Russia, a development that Moscow has described as an escalation of the war.
In addition to the American embassy, several other Western diplomatic missions in Kiev were closed today.
US diplomats said they had received a warning of a possible massive Russian air strike on the Ukrainian capital.
The development comes as Russian officials vowed a response to President Joe Biden's decision to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russian territory with US missiles. Washington's decision has angered the Kremlin.
The US embassy said the closure and attack warning were issued in the context of ongoing Russian missile and drone attacks in Kiev as it predicted a quick return to regular operations.
The Italian and Greek embassies announced they would remain closed for the day, while the United Kingdom said its embassy would remain open.
The war, which marked 1,000 days on Tuesday since it began, has taken on growing international proportions with the deployment of North Korean troops to aid Russia on the battlefield.
US officials said this development also prompted the change in President Biden administration's policy on long-range weapons.
In response, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced a new nuclear doctrine, according to which Moscow can respond with a nuclear response even to a conventional attack on Russia by any country that is backed by a nuclear power.
It is likely that this will also include the Ukrainian attacks supported by the United States.
Western leaders called Moscow's decision an attempt to prevent Ukraine's allies from providing further support to Kiev.
Meanwhile, stock markets were jolted after Ukraine used US longer-range ballistic missiles (ATACMS) for the first time to hit a target inside Russia.
Western and Ukrainian officials say Russia is stockpiling powerful long-range missiles, possibly in an effort to destroy Ukraine's power grid as winter approaches.
Experts at the Washington-based Institute for War Studies said the US decision to use ATACMS is not expected to bring any significant changes to the battlefield, but could help weaken Russian troops. /VOA
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