Evacuations are underway in Russia after Ukraine struck munitions arsenals within the country over the past two days, according to reports.
The Russian town of Kotovo is being evacuated, according to reporting from Siren on Telegram, which stated: "The administration of the Kotovsky rural settlement told journalists that the residents of Kotovo were evacuated. They were 'taken to safe places.' The authorities did not provide any other details."
Siren also said: "Earlier, the Russian defense ministry reported that 20 drones were shot down over the territory of the Novgorod region overnight. The governor of the region, Andrei Nikitin, also wrote about the destruction of 'several' drones."
The evacuations couldn't be independently verified by Newsweek. The Russian foreign ministry has been contacted via email for comment.
The strikes come after Ukraine's fight was boosted by a $275 million deal with the U.S., as well as Joe Biden's sign off on Ukraine using U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles to attack Russian territory.
The use of the long-range missiles is being seen as an escalation in the war by Russian politicians.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated that the supply of these long-range missiles is a signal that the West is becoming more involved in the conflict, and one Russian lawmaker, State Duma deputy Andrei Gurulyov, said that if the U.S. keeps supplying these missiles: "There will essentially be nothing left of America, which is trying to drag us into escalation. There will be no Biden or Trump. America is being inflicted with 95 percent total damage."
The war has escalated in many ways recently. Not only is Ukraine firing rockets into Russia, resulting in evacuations within the country, but Russia also recruited 50,000 new troops to their side, including about 10,000 soldiers from North Korea.
This increase in troops by Russia is part of an attempt to hold onto territory gained throughout the conflict in the hopes that a Donald Trump-negotiated ceasefire will result in them retaining land gained throughout the war.
Russian state media has also expressed a hope that a Trump administration will end the shipments of long-range missiles to Ukraine.
Newsweek reported on Monday that Russian state media cited a source within the Trump transition team who said the decision on ATACMS missiles could be revised. These claims have not been corroborated directly by the Trump team.
The president-elect's transition team has been contacted via email for comment outside of normal working hours.
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