• US, some Nato allies shut Kyiv embassy over fears of air attack
• Ukraine will lose if US pulls funding: Zelensky 
• Kremlin rejects suggestions Russia cut Baltic Sea cables

Russia yesterday accused the US of prolonging the "war in Ukraine" by stepping up weapons deliveries to Kyiv ahead of Donald Trump entering the White House.

The US will soon provide Ukraine with anti-personnel land mines to shore up its defences against Russian forces, a US official said late Tuesday, the latest step-up in military supplies announced by the administration of US President Joe Biden following Trump's election victory.

"If you look at the trends of the outgoing US administration, they are fully committed to continuing the war in Ukraine and are doing everything they can to do so," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters.

Washington has sought commitments from Ukraine to use the mines on its own territory and only in areas that are not populated in order to decrease the risk they pose to civilians.

The US embassy in Kyiv yesterday warned of a "potential significant air attack" and shuttered its doors, following Russia's vow to respond after Ukraine fired longer-range US missiles at its territory for the first time.

Greece, Hungary, Italy and Spain -- all Nato members -- followed the suit, announcing the closures of their diplomatic premises in the capital.

Ukrainian officials criticised the rare move and called on its allies not to spread yet more fear among Ukrainian society. President Volodymyr Zelensky told Fox News late on Tuesday that Ukraine will lose if Washington pulls funding.

The Kremlin also rejected as "absurd" and "laughable" suggestions it was involved in the cutting of telecommunications cables running under the Baltic Sea.

Two telecommunications cables cut in the Baltic Sea in 48 hours prompted European officials to say Tuesday that they suspect "sabotage" and "hybrid warfare" linked to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

"It's quite absurd to keep blaming Russia for everything without any grounds. It is laughable in the context of the lack of any reaction to Ukraine's sabotage activities in the Baltic Sea," Peskov said.

Russia's forces have also been advancing on the ground.

Yesterday, they claimed to have captured the Ukrainian town of Illinka, close to the strategic hub of Kurakhove in the eastern Donetsk region.

The US decision to give Ukraine more mines has drawn some criticism from campaign groups.

The International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL) told AFP it "condemns this terrible decision by the US" and said it would be "working to get the US to reverse it."