Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory will not lead to nuclear war, a Ukrainian MP has predicted. 

The Biden Administration has announced that Kyiv can now use American ATACMS missiles inside Russian territory for the first time.

Putin has previously warned this would mean NATO countries would be viewed as ‘directly participating’ in the conflict and Washington feared it could trigger a wider escalation.

On Newstalk Breakfast, Ukrainian MP Lesia Vasylenko said the announcement was excellent news for the nation’s Armed Forces.

"This means we can now strike back at Russia with land-to-land missiles," she said.

"This is exactly what Russia is doing to us."

Russian military bases

Minister Vasylenko said Russian missile strikes hit Ukraine on a daily basis and she hopes the provision of long-range missiles will be used to destroy the military bases from which Russia targets Ukraine

"With less military bases and air bases from which Russia will be able to launch its attacks onto Ukraine, we will be able to have a safer Ukraine for Ukrainian people," she said.

When asked if she was concerned that Russia would retaliate by further escalating their attacks on Ukraine, Ms Vasylenko said there is "nothing worse that Russia can hit Ukraine with".

"Every day is an escalation for Russia," she said.

"Russia choses when to escalate on their own whim and when they have accumulated enough missiles to launch massive attacks on Ukraine, like the one of two days ago.” 

Ms Vasylenko also said talk of Russia firing nuclear weapons at Ukraine is nothing more than an empty threat.

"We see in practice that nuclear threats are made in words, not in action," she said.

Winter

Right now, Ms Vasylenko said Ukraine is experiencing power cuts and bracing herself for a tough winter.

"Some areas of the country do not have heating and some areas of the country are subject to power cuts," she said.

"There are power cuts across all cities, including Kyiv.

"We are on an energy conservation track because without it, we will not be able to survive this winter."

Donald Trump

Almost two weeks after Trump was declared the US President-Elect, Ms Vasylenko said Ukraine will work with his administration in relation to the war.

"We are already trying to work with Trump and his team because this is the way to do it because Donald Trump is the US President as of January," she said.

She said the US remains a "strategic partner" for Ukraine.

Feature Image: Firefighters work in ruins of a mall damaged in Russia's most massive missile attack in Dnipro, Ukraine, Friday, Dec. 29, 2023. (Ukrainian Emergency Service via AP)