Typing Exercise

Russia and US battle for advantage in Ukraine war ahead of Trump's return

In a matter of days US President Joe Biden's administration and Russia have made separate - but significant - moves aimed at influencing the outcome of the war in Ukraine, two months ahead of Donald Trump's return to White House.

There is a sense of Moscow maximizing its gains and of Biden abandoning long-held red lines before Trump seeks to deliver on his claim to end the war in 24 hours.

Ukraine has already acted on Biden's decision to let Kyiv fire first long-range Atacms missiles deep into Russian territory. As Kyiv struggles to hold on to its territory in the east, Biden has promised to send anti-personnel landmines too as part of new military assistance worth nearly $300m.

What prompted Biden's change of heart appears to have been the arrival of thousands of North Koreans deployed to the front line, which the US sees as a "massive escalation".

But Russia's President Vladimir Putin has ratcheted up the tension still further by loosening the conditions of use for Russia's nuclear weapons. That "effectively eliminates" defeat on the battlefield, claims Moscow.

One Russia commentator suggest Putin might view the current situation as an "in-between" moment that gives him the sense he has the upper hand in Ukraine.

bbc.com/news