The United States asserted on Monday that Russia is intensifying the conflict in Ukraine by deploying troops from North Korea. This statement followed a warning from the Kremlin that Washington’s involvement in the war would increase if Kyiv’s forces were permitted to launch strikes deep into Russian territory using U.S.-made weaponry.

During a briefing, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller refrained from confirming whether the outgoing Biden administration had authorized such strikes. However, he emphasized that the U.S. “will always adapt and adjust the capabilities we provide to Ukraine when it’s appropriate to do so.”

According to a report by Reuters on Sunday, the Biden administration has indeed decided to permit Ukraine to carry out these strikes, a decision that U.S. officials, who requested anonymity, indicated was a reaction to the deployment of North Korean troops in the region.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov remarked on Monday that the outgoing administration is exacerbating the situation and attempting to escalate the conflict in Ukraine.

Additionally, Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stated during a Security Council meeting on Monday, referencing media reports, that the Biden administration had granted “suicidal permissions” to President Zelenskiy to utilize long-range weapons against targets within Russia.

Joe Biden may feel he has little to lose for various reasons, yet we are taken aback by the lack of foresight displayed by the leadership in the UK and France, he remarked.

“They seem eager to support the outgoing administration, which is not only jeopardizing their own nations but also dragging all of Europe into a significant escalation with severe repercussions,” Nebenzia continued. Earlier on Monday, Miller stated that Russia has consistently intensified the conflict, highlighting the deployment of 11,000 North Korean troops, which the U.S. claims have engaged with Ukrainian forces in Russia’s Kursk region.

“This represents a significant escalation by Russia, involving an Asian military in a European conflict,” Miller noted, emphasizing that the U.S. response would be resolute. “We will persist in taking appropriate measures to hold Russia accountable for its actions, including its escalatory measures, as well as to hold North Korea responsible for its own escalatory actions.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy informed reporters at the United Nations that the involvement of North Korean troops constitutes a “major, major escalation,” and he committed to ensuring Ukraine is positioned as strongly as possible.