Criticism Of The Deployment Of North Korean Troops By Russia, US: Large Escalation Involving Asian Military In European Conflict

Illustration of Russian soldiers in Ukraine. (Wikimedia Commons/Mil.ru)

JAKARTA - The United States on Monday said Russia was escalating the conflict in Ukraine by deploying North Korean troops after the Kremlin warned Washington would deepen its involvement in the war by allowing Kyiv forces to attack Russia with US-made weapons.

State Department spokesman Matthew Miller in a briefing declined to confirm President Joe Biden's upcoming Administration has decided to allow the attack, but stressed the US "will always adapt and adjust the capabilities we give Ukraine when it's right to do."

President Biden's administration has reportedly decided to allow Ukraine to carry out attacks with weapons for the US against Russia, a move that US officials who speak on condition of anonymity are a response to the presence of North Korean troops in the conflict.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday the end of the government was adding fuel to the fire and seeking to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia said in a Security Council meeting on Monday, citing media reports, the Biden Administration had issued a "suicide permit for President Zelensky's Administration to use long-range weapons to attack Russian territory."

"Maybe Joe Biden, for various reasons, doesn't have anything left to go away, but we are surprised by the peculiarities of the British and French leadership," he said.

"They are eager to play according to the wishes of the government that will step down and drag not only their country, but throughout Europe into large-scale escalation with drastic consequences," Ambassador Nebenzia added.

Earlier on Monday, Miller said Russia had repeatedly stepped up the conflict, pointing to 11,000 North Korean troops who according to the US had been deployed and had clashed with Ukrainian troops in Russia's Kursk region.

"It was a major escalation by Russia involving the Asian military in the conflict in the European region," Miller said, adding the US response would be firm.

"We will continue to do what is appropriate to hold Russia accountable for its actions, including its escalation, and hold North Korea accountable for its escalation measures," he added.