Biden greenlights Ukraine's long-range strikes on Russia - report
With two months left in the office, Biden for the first time authorized the Ukrainian military to use the ATACMS systems to defend its forces in the Kursk region of Russia
Three years into Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, U.S. president Joe Biden authorized Ukraine’s use of U.S.-made long-range missiles to strike limited targets inside Russia, according to multiple reports citing officials.
The move, marking a significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia war, appears to come in response to Vladimir Putin escalating the conflict by inviting North Korean troops into his country to fight alongside Russian forces. According to Axios, the White House seeks to deter Pyongyang from sending more troops to Russia.
Biden's powerful pro-Ukraine gesture has divided his advisers, said The New York Times. According to the report, critics doubt that granting Ukraine deep-strike capability could to change the course of the war, especially with Trump at the doors of the White House. However, it is noted that the move could help Kyiv steady its footing ahead of widely anticipated negotiations to end the war.
Ukraine's president Volodymyr Zelenskyy indicated that the first strikes on Kursk, Russia's western city, where Ukraine launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer.
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The U.S. is not the the only provider of Kyiv's long-range missiles. Biden's decision will enable Britain and France to grant Ukraine permission to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia.
Meanwhile, Germany's self-proclaimed “peace chancellor” Olaf Scholz used a recent speech to the Bundestag to reiterate his ban on providing long-range missiles. Later on Friday he held his first phone call with Russia's leader Vladimir Putin in two years.
Following the report, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova only stated that Putin "has already expressed his opinion" on Ukraine's possible long-range strikes authorized by the West. Earlier in September, Russian president said that such a step would be considered direct participation of the United States and other NATO countries in the war in Ukraine.
Several Russian lawmakers have already echoed the president after the report of Biden's authorisation of the long-range missile strikes into Russia. "The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning," said Andrei Klishas, a senior member of the Federation Council, on Telegram.
"This is a very big step towards the start of World War Three," said Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, according to the state-run TASS news agency.