In a significant shift in U.S. policy, President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia.
The decision, revealed by sources familiar with the matter, marks a crucial turning point in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
For months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had requested permission to deploy U.S. weapons beyond Ukraine’s borders, aiming to target Russian military installations further from its border.
Now, Ukraine plans to carry out its first long-range strikes in the coming days, according to multiple sources.
This policy change comes just two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20.
The move follows Russia’s recent decision to deploy North Korean ground troops to bolster its forces, a development that has raised alarm in both Washington and Kyiv.
While the Biden administration has not officially commented on the decision, it is understood that the initial long-range strikes will likely involve ATACMS rockets, capable of reaching targets up to 190 miles away.
Some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that such strikes will significantly alter the course of the war, but it may give Ukraine a stronger bargaining position in any future ceasefire negotiations.
Trump’s stance on the conflict remains unclear.
Although he has criticized the scale of U.S. aid to Ukraine, some congressional Republicans have pushed for looser restrictions on how Ukraine can use U.S. weapons.
Russia, however, has warned that relaxing the limits would be seen as a dangerous escalation in the conflict.
As Ukraine prepares for this new phase of warfare, the world watches to see how these developments will shape the future of the ongoing war.