The U.S. on Wednesday issued fresh sanctions against several Russian-linked entities and individuals involved in the building of Nord Stream 2, the massive undersea gas pipeline linking Russia to Germany.
The State Department said it has re-imposed financial penalties against entities and individuals involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2, including project operator, Nord Stream 2 AG, and a Russian-based insurer that worked with companies involved in the pipeline's construction.
Others included in the sanctions were a Russian-owned maritime rescue service, a Russian-based water transport logistics company, and more than a dozen vessel owners that were either formerly under sanctions designations or were being sanctioned for the first time.
State Department deputy spokesperson Vedant Patel told reporters Wednesday that the U.S. remains opposed to Nord Stream 2 as well as any efforts to revive it.
Officials also cited Russia’s ongoing efforts to weaponize its energy resources, including throttling its piped gas supplies to Europe shortly after the start of its war in Ukraine in 2022.
"We're going to continue to work and ensure that Russia is never able to weaponize its energy resources and its energy positioning for political gain," Patel said of the new sanctions.
News of the new sanctions designations comes after both the Nord Stream 1 and 2 gas pipelines linking Russia to Europe were hit by a series of explosions in late September 2022.
To date, no one has taken responsibility for the blasts, which U.S. and other Western leaders have described as an act of potential "sabotage."
Russia has dismissed suggestions that it would blow up its own pipeline, with Russian President Vladimir Putin describing such a move as "idiotic."
Though neither pipeline was operational at the time, both lines were filled with gas under pressure.
Prior to Russia's war in Ukraine, the Nord Stream 1 pipeline had supplied roughly 35% of the European Union’s total Russian gas imports before Moscow halted supplies indefinitely citing "maintenance" needs. Nord Stream 2 was expected to double that capacity.
In the years since Russia’s war in Ukraine began, the EU has scrambled to offset its reliance on Russian energy supplies, including by purchasing more liquefied natural gas from the U.S. and other suppliers, by devoting more resources toward nuclear power and by building more regasification terminals, among other things.
The fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad, the culmination of years of civil war, has given way to a power vacuum with different factions protecting their own interests – and vying for power in the Middle Eastern nation.
The U.S., worried about the resurgence of an ISIS stronghold, has struck targets associated with the Islamic State in central Syria.
Turkey, which controls a zone of Syria on its northern border, has continued to attack U.S.-backed Kurdish forces.
Both work with different proxy groups.
Here’s a look at the different forces vying for control in the region:
HTS was the key faction behind the fall of Damascus and the fleeing of Assad, and now controls the capital city. But the Islamist militant group is far from a U.S. ally – its leader, Abu Mohammed al-Golani, has a $10 million U.S. bounty on his head and has been designated a terrorist since 2013. The group governed just a sliver of northwest Syria in Idlib.
The group, founded as an al Qaeda affiliate, still remains largely aligned with al Qaeda but focuses on establishing fundamentalist Islamic rule in Syria rather than a global caliphate.
The U.N., U.S. and Turkey all designate HTS as a terrorist organization. The group, in recent years, has worked to soften its image and lobbied to be delisted as a terrorist group, highlighting its government services in Idlib and promising to protect religious and cultural sites, even churches, in Aleppo.
Experts believe Turkey, which has long looked to topple Assad, may have been at play in HTS’ offensive.
Syria’s forces loyal to Assad have staved off coup attempts since 2011, often through violent crackdowns on protests and rebellion.
By 2020, government troops backed by Iran, Russia and Lebanese Hezbollah had pushed rebel forces back to the northwest corner of Syria.
In the waning days of November, rebel factions swiftly overpowered government troops, seizing control of Aleppo – a city previously reclaimed by Assad's forces in 2016. Eight days later, the insurgents successfully captured not only Aleppo, but also Hama, Homs and Damascus.
On Monday, HTS granted Assad’s forces "a general amnesty for all military personnel conscripted under compulsory service."
"Their lives are safe and no one may assault them," the group said in a statement.
The SNA is a loosely bound coalition of Turkish-backed forces primarily intent on fighting Kurdish forces. But the coalition, which carries out Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s anti-Assad efforts, was also involved in the fall of Damascus. The groups have – in the past – also battled HTS and other Islamic State terrorists.
The SNA coalition believes U.S.-backed Kurdish forces in Syria to be linked to Turkey’s Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), a militant group that has launched Kurdish nationalist attacks in Turkey.
SDF is a coalition of U.S.-backed Kurdish forces, centered in northeastern Syria. They have long worked alongside the U.S. in battling Islamic State forces in Syria.
In addition to fighting the Islamic State, they’ve been fending off attacks from Turkish-backed fighters.
Kurdish forces were not involved in the offensive that toppled Assad, but they hailed the offensive campaign.
"In Syria, we are living through historic moments as we witness the fall of the authoritarian regime in Damascus. This change presents an opportunity to build a new Syria based on democracy and justice that guarantees the rights of all Syrians," said Mazlum Abdi, the commander of the SDF, on Sunday morning.
After relatively friendly relations with Syria throughout the early 2000s, Turkey condemned Assad over the violent 2011 crackdown on protesters.
While Turkey and the U.S. are allies – bound to protect each other through NATO – they are on opposing sides in Syria, even as both celebrated Assad's downfall. The Turkish military fired on U.S.-backed forces in Syria over the weekend, where fighting erupted between rebel groups in Manbij, a Kurdish-controlled city near Syria's border with Turkey. Turkey has long had a goal of pushing the Kurds away from its border, and is looking to use the current turmoil to capture control along the border and decimate the Kurdish population there.
Kurdish separatists have fought Turkey for years, looking to carve out their own autonomous nation.
Since 2015, Russia has effectively acted as Assad’s air force, but its capacity to intervene on the dictator’s behalf has diminished since resources were needed for the war with Ukraine.
Iran was Assad’s biggest supporter, providing arms and military advice and directing its proxy Lebanese Hezbollah to fight the insurgents. But Hezbollah had to direct its troops back to Lebanon to fight Israel, leaving Assad’s forces in a weakened position.
HTS leader al-Golani lamented in a speech on Sunday that Syria had become "a playground for Iranian ambitions."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu credited his forces’ weakening of Hezbollah for playing a key role in the fall of Assad. Israel has consistently launched strikes against Syria with the strategic aim of disrupting the channels Iran uses to supply arms to Hezbollah.
After Assad’s fall, Israel, on Sunday, struck Assad’s chemical weapons facilities within Syria, for fear of what hands they may fall into in his absence.
Israel also captured control of a buffer zone within the Golan Heights, the first time they’ve captured territory in Syria since the war in 1973.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) moved in on Sunday and told residents to remain in their homes until further notice. They said they needed to capture the territory to ensure border security.
They also captured Mount Hermon – the highest point on the border between the two countries and a blind spot in their defenses that Iran had been exploiting to send low-flying drones.
Some 900 U.S. troops remain in Syria, where they are partnered with the SDF to fight ISIS.
On Sunday, President Biden said U.S. troops would remain there to "ensure stability."
The U.S. carried out dozens of precision strikes on more than 75 ISIS targets in central Syria over the weekend to prevent the terrorist group from exploiting the unrest to rebuild.
"We're clear-eyed about the fact that ISIS will try to take advantage of any vacuum to re-establish its capability to create a safe haven," Biden said. "We will not let that happen."
Biden said the U.S. would support Syria's neighbors – Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and Israel – "should any threat arise from Syria during this transition."
The president added that the fall of Assad created a "historic opportunity for the long-suffering people of Syria."
Syrian dictator Bashar Assad, who fled the country Saturday as rebels closed in on the capital of Damascus, has arrived in Moscow and has been granted asylum by the Russian government, according to Russian News Agency Tass.
Speculation about where Assad might land has been widespread since the longtime dictator fled the country, with allies such as Iran and Russia being at the top of the list.
Assad was forced to flee the country after a coalition of largely radical Islamist groups led a sweeping offensive across Syria, culminating in the capture of the country's capital city and the fall of Assad's regime, which had seen his family rule Syria for over 50 years.
The offensive was the latest development in a bloody civil war that has ravaged Syria for almost 14 years, a war that also led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist organization and yearslong interventions by countries such as the United States, Russia, Iran and Turkey.
Assad has been a longtime ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who had for more than a decade dedicated military resources to the defense of Assad's regime and its government forces.
Assad now arrives in Russia with his family, according to an Interfax news agency report, citing a Kremlin source.
"President Assad of Syria has arrived in Moscow. Russia has granted them (him and his family) asylum on humanitarian grounds," the source told the outlet.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha is urging NATO leaders to invite Ukraine to join the Western military alliance during a meeting in Brussels next week, according to a letter sent to alliance leaders—reflecting the country's frenzied push to gain membership in the alliance in the final days of Biden's presidency.
The letter, first reviewed by Reuters, comes as Ukraine has re-upped its request for NATO membership to help put an end to Russia's war, including a recent uptick in attacks on its energy infrastructure. It also comes as the Biden administration has granted Ukraine new permissions to fight back against Russia in their final months in office.
In the letter, Ukraine's foreign minister acknowledged his country's ongoing war with Russia prohibits Kyiv from joining NATO right now. But he argued that an invitation for membership in Brussels would be a powerful show of force—and a major symbolic blow—to Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has long opposed the idea of their membership in NATO.
"We believe that the invitation should be extended at this stage," Sybiha said in the letter. "It will become the Allies' adequate response to Russia's constant escalation of the war it has unleashed, the latest demonstration of which is the involvement of tens of thousands of North Korean troops and the use of Ukraine as a testing ground for new weapons," he added.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy used an interview on Sky News to up the public pressure for NATO leaders to extend his country a membership offer.
Speaking Friday to Sky News's Stuart Ramsay, the Ukrainian president suggested that NATO could extend membership to the territory of Ukraine still under its control to help accelerate the NATO memberhsip process and wind down Russia's war as quickly as possible.
"If we want to stop the hot phase of the war, we need to take under the NATO umbrella the territory of Ukraine that we have under our control," he told Ramsay. NATO should "immediately" cover parts of the country that are under Ukrainian authority, he said, stressing that it it something Ukraine needs "very much otherwise he will come back," in apparent reference to Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Ukraine would face many hurdles in attempting to join NATO, despite assurances from the alliance that it is on an "irreversible path" to membership.
That's because Ukraine lacks two key requirements for NATO membership: territorial integrity and the absence of ongoing conflict. Currently, Russia controls roughly 20% of Ukrainian territory, Rebekah Koffler, a strategic military intelligence analyst and author of "Putin's Playbook," told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday.
Any country hoping to gain membership "cannot have ongoing conflict because of Article 5," Koffler said.
For Russia,"it is a red line for Ukraine to be part of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine part of Russia's strategic security perimeter.
NATO members are also split over the idea of accepting Ukraine. "Those who are against it are concerned about Article 5 obligations: admitting Ukraine into NATO would automatically place the United States and the entire NATO alliance at war with Russia because of the collective defense clause," Koffler said.
The State Department said Friday that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had spoken by phone to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Sybiha to discuss battlefield updates and incoming U.S. security assistance in wake of recent Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. On the call, officials said, Blinken "briefed the Foreign Minister on U.S. goals for sustainable support for Ukraine, to be discussed at upcoming diplomatic engagements with NATO and through the Ukraine Defense Contact Group."
The press release stopped short of detailing any further overtures to Ukraine.
Still, Ukraine's push for membership comes as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and his administration brace for the many unknowns of a second Trump presidency. Trump has long expressed skepticism of NATO, and suggested as recently as this year that he could end the war between Russian and Ukraine "in a day."
While Ukraine's push for NATO membership is not new, the timeline for leaders to approve their bid has taken on new urgency, as the war nears its third year and as President-elect Trump prepares to take office again.
NATO membership was included as one of the first— and most important—steps in Zelenskyy's multi-part "victory plan" to help win the war against Russia.
The outline, which his administration published in October, suggested that Ukraine could put an end to the war with Russia as early as 2025, if the country's requests are granted for more weapons and the continued ability to carry out military operations on Russian soil.
Any country hoping to gain membership "cannot have ongoing conflict because of Article 5," Koffler said.
For Russia,"it is a red line for Ukraine to be part of NATO," Koffler added, since Russian President Vladimir Putin considers Ukraine part of Russia's strategic security perimeter.
President Joe Biden, for his part, has used his final weeks in office to authorize new permissions for Ukraine in the ongoing war with Ukraine.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration granted Ukraine new permission to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to strike targets inside Russian teritory. Later, they also signed off on the transfer of anti-personnel mines to bolster Ukrainian army defenses in the east.
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo joined Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s legal defense team this week, as the Jewish leader and his former defense chief Yoav Gallant face arrest warrants from the International Criminal Court (ICC) over their ongoing response to Hamas' Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack.
Cuomo, a three-term Democrat who resigned in 2021 amid harassment allegations he has personally denied, also railed against antisemitism at a recent dinner with leaders of New York’s Jewish community.
Cuomo condemned what he characterized as whitewashing Hamas kidnappings and murders in Israel, telling the National Committee for Furtherance of Jewish Education he is proud to join Netanyahu’s defense.
He condemned the "denial" that too many people and "institutions" have about the scourge of antisemitism.
Cuomo said one Jewish leader, Rabbi Zvi Kogan, who had been reported as "missing" in the United Arab Emirates was not so, and instead was kidnapped and murdered by Hamas. Cuomo suggested such incorrect characterizations should be considered antisemitic.
"This is the moment that is going to be in the history books. This is a pivotal moment and this is the moment when true friends stand shoulder to shoulder and fight for the state of Israel," Cuomo said.
"I am proud to be on the legal defense team of the prime minister against the arrest warrant at the ICC – and I’m proud to stand against antisemitism."
The ICC charged Netanyahu and Gallant with crimes against humanity and war crimes, setting off a global firestorm as signatories to the court’s jurisdiction found themselves at odds with non-party allies like the U.S.
In recognizing the ICC, member nations have a sworn duty to uphold its edicts. Netanyahu’s warrant therefore presented the swath of Western nations – including the entire European Union – with a predicament that placed them counter to the U.S. and Israel.
Heritage Foundation President Kevin Roberts told Britain's GB News there would be "hell to pay for any international leader buying into this bulls---." That nation's leader, left-wing Prime Minister Keir Starmer, faces pressure from some members of his Labour Party who have cited an "obligation" to arrest Netanyahu, according to the outlet.
The Macron administration in France signaled Netanyahu will be treated as immune to the ICC because – while the French are signatories – Israel is not.
Separately, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot was asked if France would arrest Netanyahu, and responded that Paris is "very committed to international justice and will apply international law," according to the Jerusalem Post.
The warrants caused bipartisan outrage on Capitol Hill as Sens. John Fetterman, D-Pa., Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., and Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Reps. Jared Moskowitz, D-Fla., and Ritchie Torres, D-N.Y., found rare agreement.
Graham told "Hannity" that he and Cotton seek to pass a law sanctioning any country aiding the ICC in arresting Netanyahu, while the other listed lawmakers all condemned the warrant.
Cuomo is also rumored to be considering a 2025 mayoral run in New York City – which is home to the largest Jewish community in the U.S.
During his remarks, he cited the 1.6 million Jews in the Big Apple and said Hamas is demonstrating in the streets with masks while Jewish people are afraid to wear yarmulkes or Stars of David in public.
"That cannot happen in the state of New York," he said, adding a relevant law he signed as governor should be properly enforced.
In 2019, Cuomo approved antisemitic-hate-crimes legislation sponsored by state Sen. Todd Kaminsky, D-Long Beach, and launched a "No Hate In Our State" campaign soon after.
A Cuomo spokesman directed Fox News Digital to video of the governor's speech and said in a statement the Democrat is proud to be part of a legal "dream team" for Netanyahu.
"As governor, Cuomo made fighting antisemitism and supporting Israel a top priority, passing landmark hate crime legislation, prioritizing security upgrades to religious institutions, creating a new hate crimes unit in the State Police and leading a state delegation to Israel when it was under attack," he said.
The ideological potpourri of the U.S., Russia, Cuba, Turkey, Vatican City and Malaysia are some of the more major nations who do not recognize the ICC.
Major U.S. allies Canada, Mexico, Australia and the United Kingdom recognize the Holland-based bench.
Fox News Digital has reached out to the Netanyahu administration for comment.
A Ukranian boxing champion is at odds with Joe Rogan's claim that the Biden administration could "potentially start World War III" regarding Ukraine's conflict with Russia.
Rogan recently ripped the Biden administration for its handling of the Russia-Ukraine conflict — the podcaster said that the administration's call for Ukraine to use American missiles to strike Russia is a sign that they are "about to start World War III."
Wladimir Klitschko, whose brother Vitali is the mayor of Kyiv, replied with a video on X that he captioned, simply, "@joerogan, I disagree."
"You talk about these American weapons being sent to Ukraine, which you believe will lead to the Third World War, so let me tell you that you’re repeating Russian propaganda," Klitschko said. "Putin’s Russia is in trouble, so they want to scare you and people like you. His war was supposed to last three days. It has lasted three years thanks to the heroism and sacrifice of us Ukrainians. So you’re using the only weapon that Putin really intends to use, propaganda, and this weapon really weakens our democracies."
It appeared that Klitschko then mistook a fan account for Rogan, as the fan account wrote, "Does this make sense to anyone or just an attempt to get on the podcast?" Klitschko reposted that, challenging Rogan to get him on the podcast, although the message wasn't publicly sent to Rogan.
"Fear Factor = Offering a public opinion about a nation, but not able to discuss your opinion and facts with another public figure of the nation you had the opinion about. We would only meet in the podcast ring not in the boxing ring. Let’s do it! What are you waiting for?" Klitschko wrote.
Biden's decision was spurred by the Russian decision to invite 10,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight against Ukraine in Kursk. A second official told Fox News that it is unclear if Biden plans to approve the use of the missiles outside the Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously said the U.S.'s approval of such missile strikes would constitute an act of war.
Fox News' Anders Hagstrom, Andrea Margolis, and Jennifer Griffin contributed to this report.
Richard "Ric" Grenell, the former acting director of National Intelligence in President-elect Trump's first administration, is reportedly under consideration to be special envoy for the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Currently, there is no special envoy responsible for bringing an end to the war in Eastern Europe. Trump is strongly considering whether to create the role, Reuters reported, citing four sources familiar with the president's deliberations.
If he does create the new position, Grenell is said to be a leading candidate, though Trump may select someone else, the sources told Reuters. There is also no guarantee that Grenell would accept the position if it were offered to him, the sources reportedly said.
Fox News Digital was previously told Grenell was under consideration to be U.S. Secretary of State. Florida Sen. Marco Rubio was instead named to lead the State Department.
Neither Grenell nor the Trump transition team responded to requests for comment.
Trump repeatedly made campaign promises to quickly resolve the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, if elected, although he has never laid out a specific plan to end the war.
Grenell, an outspoken Trump loyalist, has made statements in the past that may be of concern to Ukrainian leadership.
During a Bloomberg round table in July, he advocated for the creation of "autonomous zones" as a means of settling the conflict, which began after Russia invaded Ukrainian sovereign territory. He also suggested he would not be in favor of Ukraine joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in the immediate future, a position he shares with many Trump allies.
Grenell's supporters note he has had a long diplomatic career and has a deep knowledge of European affairs. In addition to serving as ambassador to Germany, Grenell was also a special presidential envoy for Serbia and Kosovo peace negotiations.
Prior to working for the first Trump administration, Grenell was a U.S. State Department spokesman to the United Nations under President George W. Bush. He has advised various Republican candidates and was a foreign policy spokesman for Mitt Romney during the 2012 presidential campaign.
The Biden administration told Congress it plans to cancel $4.65 billion in debt owed by Ukraine, approximately half of an economic loan offered earlier this year.
State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller confirmed the plans in a briefing on Wednesday. "So we have taken the step that was outlined in the law to cancel those loans, provide that economic assistance to Ukraine," he said.
In April, Congress passed a supplemental funding package that earmarked $60 billion worth of aid for Ukraine, including $9 billion structured as a loan, with a provision that allowed the administration to forgive it, according to Miller.
Miller added that Congress could pass a resolution of disapproval to overturn the cancellation. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., introduced such a resolution on Wednesday night. Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., immediately said he would introduce a resolution to block the measure.
Such a resolution is unlikely to pass a Democratic-controlled Senate, and President Joe Biden could veto it. The supplemental funding package gave the administration the power to forgive 50% of the loan, and the remaining 50% could be forgiven after January 2026.
"On his way out, Joe Biden is trying to forgive $4.65 billion of debt Ukraine owes America's taxpayers. I just introduced H.J. Res 224 to stop this "America Last" policy from taking effect," he posted to X, formerly Twitter.
Congress has appropriated more than $175 billion for Ukraine since Russia's invasion in February 2022.
Biden has gone into overdrive to assist Ukraine in the weeks since President-elect Donald Trump won the election.
After months of hesitation, he authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range missiles to strike into Russia this week. Shortly thereafter, he allowed them to use anti-personnel land mines, which drew the ire of human rights groups.
The Biden administration said the decision was made after Russia brought in 10,000 troops from North Korea to fight in the war in Ukraine.
Biden has also vowed to commit the remaining $7 billion from the supplemental package to Ukraine before Biden leaves office. On Tuesday, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced $275 million for Ukraine that would include more drones, artillery ammunition and mortars.
Trump allies have accused Biden of "escalating" the war on his way out the door "for politics."
Other hawkish lawmakers say it’s a long overdue step.
Earlier this month, Biden also approved U.S. military contractors going to Ukraine to help the country maintain and repair U.S.-made weapons systems.
It's unclear whether President-elect Donald Trump will keep such policies in place when he takes office, though he has suggested that he believes he could end the war "in 24 hours" at the negotiating table with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin.
President Biden approved sending anti-personnel mines to Ukraine late Tuesday, a reversal of policy and yet another escalation in the conflict with Russia ahead of President-elect Trump's inauguration.
Ukrainian officials have reportedly promised to only deploy the mines in Ukrainian territory and away from major population centers. The U.S. had previously withheld anti-personnel mines because of their tendency to outlast conflicts once deployed and cause injury to innocents.
The U.S. has reportedly taken precautions to prevent such injuries, however. The mines being delivered to Ukraine operate on an electric fuse that relies on a battery. That battery typically runs out over the course of hours or even weeks, and it is then inoperative, according to CBS News.
The Biden administration's approval came the same day that Ukraine used American-made ATACMs in a strike on Russian soil. Biden had prohibited such uses until last week.
Allies of President-elect Trump have blasted the Biden administration for approving Ukraine's escalation of its conflict with Russia in the final months before Trump takes office.
"The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives," Donald Trump Jr. posted on social media after Biden's long-range missile approval. "Gotta lock in those $Trillions. Life be dammed!!! Imbeciles!"
According to a senior U.S. official, Biden's actions are spurred by the Russian decision to invite 10,000 North Korean soldiers into the fight against Ukraine in Kursk. A second official told Fox News that it is unclear if Biden plans to approve the use of the missiles outside the Kursk region.
Russian President Vladimir Putin reacted by updating Russia's nuclear weapon use doctrines. The White House National Security Council downplayed that reaction.
"As we said earlier this month, we were not surprised by Russia’s announcement that it would update its nuclear doctrine; Russia had been signaling its intent to update its doctrine for several weeks. Observing no changes to Russia’s nuclear posture, we have not seen any reason to adjust our own nuclear posture or doctrine in response to Russia’s statements today," an NSC spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
"This is more of the same irresponsible rhetoric from Russia, which we have seen for the past two years. As we said to Russia weeks ago, Russia’s use of DPRK soldiers in combat operations against Ukraine presents a significant escalation of its war of choice against Ukraine and we warned that the United States would respond," the statement continued.
The announcement came after Great Britain and France authorized Ukraine to launch SCALP/Storm Shadow missile strikes, according to French outlet Le Figaro.
Putin has previously said that giving Ukraine the green light on missile use would effectively mean that the U.S. and NATO are "in the war."
The Biden administration is expected to announce a $275 million weapons package for Ukraine this week, a U.S. official tells Fox News.
The package is from the presidential drawdown authority (PDA) money, meaning the weapons will come from U.S. stockpiles and will be delivered to Ukraine quicker than a Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative (USAI) package.
The weapons package will include the High Mobility Artillery Rocket (HIMAR) system, but not HIMAR ammunition, and 155 mm artillery shells, drones and Javelin surface-to-air missiles, the official said.
Once the announcement on the weapons package is made, the U.S. will have a remaining $6.9 billion in PDA funding and $2.21 billion in USAI funding for Ukraine.
Last month, the U.S. provided Ukraine with an additional $425 million in supplies and weapons using PDA money to help Ukraine meet its most urgent needs at the time in terms of air defense, air-to-ground weapons, rocket systems, artillery munitions, armored vehicles and anti-tank weapons.
The latest package comes in a timely fashion as just two days ago President Biden approved Ukraine to use American long-range missiles on Russian soil. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously indicated that any such act would be considered an act of war.
On Tuesday, Moscow said Ukrainian forces took advantage of Biden’s green light and launched six U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or simply ATACMS, into Russian territory.
Russia claims it shot down five of the missiles while damaging a sixth. It added that debris landed in the area of a Russian military facility and that there were no casualties or damage beyond a small fire.
Fox News received confirmation of the overnight strike from a U.S. official.
Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh told reporters during a briefing on Tuesday that Russia escalated the war with Ukraine by bringing in more than 11,000 soldiers from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), or North Korea, to fight alongside Russian soldiers in the Kursk region.
She also said the Biden administration has a commitment to continue arming Ukraine with what it needs on the battlefield.
"We don't see that as escalatory," Singh said. "We see that as a commitment that we set out from the very beginning of this administration."
When asked if the Department of Defense (DOD) has reason to believe that more North Korean troops are headed to Russia, she said the DOD thinks it could certainly see more moving into the area but that there are more than 11,000 DPRK soldiers already embedded with Russian forces.
"I mean, they’re moving into the … Kursk region for a very specific region, which is clearly to engage Ukrainian forces," Singh said.
Fox News Digital’s Anders Hagstrom contributed to this report.
FIRST ON FOX: South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham sent a letter to each of the 51 former intelligence officials who signed a memo suggesting Hunter Biden's laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation.
"In your letter, you claimed that the laptop story was ‘Russia trying to influence how Americans vote,’" Graham’s letter to former CIA directors Leon Panetta and Michael Hayden, former Director of National Intelligence [DNI] James Clapper and 48 others said.
"I ask you to respond publicly to one simple question: if you knew then what you know now about the laptop, would you still have signed the October 19, 2020 letter?"
Mark Zaid, an attorney representing seven of the signatories, said it was "patriotic" for his clients to sign on to the letter.
"There continues to be by many a calculated or woefully ignorant interpretation of the October 2020 letter signed by 51 former intelligence officials concerning Hunter Biden's laptop," Zaid said.
Greg Treverton, a signatory who previously served as chair of the National Intelligence Council, defended the letter in a statement to Fox News Digital.
"This is very old news," Treverton said. "What we said was true. We were inferring from our experience, and it did look like a Russian operation. We didn't, and couldn't, of course, say it was a Russian operation. Enough said."
The now-infamous letter said their national security experience had made them "deeply suspicious that the Russian government played a significant role in this case."
"If we are right," they added, "this is Russia trying to influence how Americans vote in this election, and we believe strongly that Americans need to be aware of this."
Despite claims from former officials that the laptop had the hallmarks of Russian disinformation, Fox News Digital reported that federal investigators with the Department of Justice knew in December 2019 that Hunter Biden’s laptop was "not manipulated in any way" and contained "reliable evidence." But they were "obstructed" from seeing all available information, according to an IRS whistleblower involved in the probe nearly a year before the former intelligence officials and President Joe Biden declared it was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
The laptop was introduced into evidence in a Delaware courtroom last week by prosecutor Derek Hines and handed to FBI agent Erika Jensen, who had earlier explained how the FBI authenticated the laptop and extracted data. In Hunter Biden's gun trial, she testified about dozens of text messages, metadata, photos and short videos found on phones and iCloud accounts belonging to Hunter Biden.
