American Senator James David Vance said via the social media platform X that Washington is heading towards a nuclear war due to Joe Biden's approval of Ukrainian shelling of Russia using U.S. weapons.

Vance, who represents Ohio in the Senate, added: "It seems to me that the risk of nuclear war is now greater than ever; President Joe Biden is unwittingly heading towards a third world war."

Earlier, a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department stated to a Novosti reporter that Biden allowed Ukraine to use U.S. weapons in the mutual artillery exchange to target locations on Russian territory if they threaten the Kharkiv region.

The New York Times reported from sources that the Pentagon would need to send precise instructions to Ukraine regarding the use of U.S. weapons to strike Russian territory.

For his part, President Vladimir Putin stated that NATO representatives must realize "what they are playing with" when talking about allowing the Kyiv regime to strike "legitimate targets" deep within Russian territory using missile systems delivered by the West to Ukrainian forces.

Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, commenting on Moscow's potential response to the new shelling of Russian territory, said that the head of state and the army are aware of this, "and appropriate countermeasures are being taken."