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Kremlin Says Any New Longer-Range US Rockets Will Escalate Ukraine Conflict

This photograph taken on January 31, 2023, shows a destroyed building in Bogoyavlenka (alternatively spelled Bohoyavlenka) on January 31, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 31, 2023, shows a destroyed building in Bogoyavlenka (alternatively spelled Bohoyavlenka) on January 31, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
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Kremlin Says Any New Longer-Range US Rockets Will Escalate Ukraine Conflict

This photograph taken on January 31, 2023, shows a destroyed building in Bogoyavlenka (alternatively spelled Bohoyavlenka) on January 31, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)
This photograph taken on January 31, 2023, shows a destroyed building in Bogoyavlenka (alternatively spelled Bohoyavlenka) on January 31, 2023, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. (AFP)

The Kremlin said on Wednesday that longer-range rockets reportedly included in an upcoming package of military aid from the United States to Ukraine would escalate the conflict but not change its course.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov also told reporters that there were no plans for Russian President Vladimir Putin to hold talks with US President Joe Biden.

The US package of military aid, worth $2.2 billion, is expected to include longer-range rockets for the first time, two US officials briefed on the matter told Reuters on Tuesday.

Such rockets would allow Ukraine - which has said it plans to retake all of its territory by force, including annexed Crimea - to strike deeper into Russian-held territory.

Asked about the new aid package, the Kremlin's Peskov said:

"Yes, this is a direct way to escalate tensions, to increase the level of escalation, we can see that. It requires us to make additional efforts, but - once again - it will not change the course of events. The special military operation will continue."

Putin sent tens of thousands of Russian troops into Ukraine in February last year. He has said the operation was needed to protect Russia's own security and to stand up to what he has described as Western efforts to contain and weaken Moscow.

Ukraine and the West accuse Russia of waging an illegal war designed to expand its territory.

‘Bounty payments’

The Kremlin also welcomed a Russian company's offer of "bounty payments" for soldiers who destroy Western-made tanks on the battlefield in Ukraine, saying it would spur Russian forces to victory.

The Russian company Fores this week offered 5 million roubles ($72,000) in cash to the first soldiers who destroy or capture US-made Abrams or German Leopard 2 tanks in Ukraine.

Peskov said Russian troops would "burn" any Western tanks that were delivered to Ukraine, adding the bounties were extra encouragement for Russian soldiers.

"This testifies to the unity and the desire of everybody to contribute as best they can, one way or another, directly or indirectly, to achieving the goals of the special military operation," he added.

"As for these tanks, we have already said they will burn. With such incentives, I think there will be even more enthusiasts."

The Western-made tanks - far more advanced than anything used by Ukraine or Russia in the conflict so far - are unlikely to arrive at the frontlines in eastern and southern Ukraine for several months.

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Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
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Indonesian Rescuers Dig through Volcanic Ash after Eruption Kills 9 and Destroys Buildings

A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)
A general view of a residential area covered with volcanic ash at an area affected by the eruption of Mount Lewotobi Laki-Laki volcano at Flores Timur, Indonesia, November 4, 2024. (Antara Foto/Pemulet Paul/via Reuters)

Rescue workers on Tuesday were sifting through smoldering debris and thick mud in search of survivors, a day after a volcano on Indonesia’s remote island of Flores erupted with fury, killing at least nine people with its searing lava and ash.

Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki spewed thick brownish ash as high as 2,000 meters (6,500 feet) into the air, and searing lava, gravel and ash were thrown up to seven kilometers (4.3 miles) from its crater, blanketing nearby villages and towns with tons of volcanic debris and forcing residents to flee.

The National Disaster Management Agency on Tuesday lowered the known death toll from an earlier report of 10, saying it had received updated information from rescuers that a victim trapped under tons of debris in a collapsed house who was feared dead was eventually rescued alive and was now in critical condition at a hospital. The agency said 63 other people were hospitalized, 31 of them with serious injuries.

More than 2,400 villagers streamed into makeshift emergency shelters after Monday's powerful eruption that burned down seven schools and 23 houses, including a convent of nuns, on the majority-Catholic island, said the agency’s spokesperson, Abdul Muhari.

Smoldering debris, thick mud and a power blackout hampered the evacuation and search efforts, said Kensius Didimus, a local disaster agency chief,

"We’ll do everything we can to evacuate villagers by preparing trucks and motorbikes for them to flee at any time," he said, adding that the debris and lava mixed with rainfall formed thick mud that destroyed the main roads on the island.

Authorities warned the thousands of people who fled the volcano’s wrath not to return during Tuesday’s lull in activity. But some were desperate to check on livestock and possessions left behind. In several areas, everything — from the thinnest tree branch to couches and chairs inside homes — was caked with ash.

Videos released by the National Search and Rescue Agency showed roads that were covered in heavy gray ash and houses covered by thick gray mud, rocks and uprooted trees.

The country’s geology agency said a series of eruptions since Thursday had created an accumulation of hidden energy due to a blockage of magma in the crater, which reduced detectible seismic activity while building up pressure.

"The eruptions have eased pressure that had been building under a lava dome perched on the crater," said Priatin Hadi Wijaya, who heads the Center for Volcanology and Disaster Mitigation. "But we should anticipate hot ash and debris could tumble down from the crater due to heavy rains."

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto has instructed his Cabinet and disaster and military officials to coordinate the response, said Coordinating Minister for Human Development and Culture Pratikno, who like many Indonesians uses a single name.

The country’s volcano monitoring agency increased the volcano’s alert status to the highest level and more than doubled the exclusion zone to a seven-kilometer (4.3-mile) radius after midnight on Monday as eruptions became more frequent.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of a pair of stratovolcanoes in the East Flores district of East Nusa Tenggara province known locally as the husband and wife mountains. "Laki laki" means husband, while its mate is Lewotobi Perempuan, or woman.

About 6,500 people were evacuated in January after Mount Lewotobi Laki Laki began erupting, spewing thick clouds and forcing the government to close the island’s Frans Seda Airport. No casualties or major damage were reported, but the airport has remained closed since then due to seismic activity.

This is Indonesia’s second volcanic eruption in as many weeks. West Sumatra province’s Mount Marapi, one of the country’s most active volcanos, erupted on Oct. 27, spewing thick columns of ash at least three times and blanketing nearby villages with debris, but no casualties were reported.

Lewotobi Laki Laki is one of the 120 active volcanoes in Indonesia, an archipelago of 280 million people. The country is prone to earthquakes, landslides and volcanic activity because it sits along the "Ring of Fire," a horseshoe-shaped series of seismic fault lines around the Pacific Ocean.