Russia warns: Biden is starting the Third World War?

"The guys from the Biden administration are trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and while they are still in office. I sincerely hope that (newly elected US President Donald) Trump will change this decision, as it leads to a serious risk of the Third World War, which is not in anyone's interest,'' Butina told Reuters.

A member of the Duma Committee for International Affairs, Dmitry Belik, estimated that Biden's decision was caused by the "inability to accept the defeat" of the Democratic Party in the presidential elections in the USA, as well as the "desire to take revenge on Trump".

He stated that Biden decided "not to be guided by common sense" and to withdraw peacefully, but to recklessly inflame the conflict.

"This was done in order to significantly complicate the negotiation process in Ukraine for Trump and his future administration. Neither Biden nor his henchmen think about the consequences of such recklessness, driven by the desire to harm Trump as much as possible in the remaining two months and raise the stakes in the geopolitical game,'' Belik said.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova previously stated that Russian President Vladimir Putin had already commented on the potential granting of permission to Kyiv to use long-range weapons for attacks on Russian territory.

"The president has already said everything about this issue. The use of Western long-range weapons against Russia will mean the direct participation of NATO countries in the conflict in Ukraine. That is, if they move the war on the territory of Ukraine to the East, it will not stop there - it will also reach the West", Putin said then.

The chairman of the State Duma Committee for International Affairs and the leader of the LDPR, Liberal Democratic Party of Russia, Leonid Slutsky, said that Biden's decision will lead to the "strongest response", considering the threats that will be created against Russia.

"Biden has apparently decided to finish his presidential term and go down in history as 'Bloody Joe'. If the information from the paper's sources is confirmed, it will mean only one thing: the direct participation of the US in the military conflict in Ukraine. Which will inevitably cause the harshest response of Russia, considering the threats that will be created for our country," said Slutsky.

According to the writing of the "New York Times" and the allegations of Reuters and some other media, the administration of outgoing President Joseph Biden on Sunday authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range cruise missiles for strikes deep into Russian territory, and after that, as reported by "Figaro", so did France and Great Britain, allowing the use of SCALP/Storm shadow missiles.