US gives blessing for Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to hit Russia
The United States has given its blessing for Ukraine to push a major escalation of its defensive against Russian forces – inside their territory.
A major escalation in Ukraine’s defensive against Russia has been green-lit by the United States in a staggering shift in the conflict.
President Joe Biden has issued formal approval for Ukraine to use long-range missiles provided by America to strike targets within Russian territory, CNN reports, citing an unnamed senior official.
A condition of financial and military support provided to Kyiv was that President Volodymyr Zelenskyy only use weapons on Moscow’s troops inside Ukrainian territory.
But now, Mr Biden’s about-face could see US Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which have a range of about 300km, used to strike Russian assets.
It follows a massive attack by Russia on Ukraine’s electricity grid, which killed at least 19 civilians, including a child, and sparked widespread power outages.
Moscow launched 120 missiles and almost 100 drones, targeting Kyiv as well as southern, central and far-western corners of the country.
The country has announced nationwide emergency power restrictions from Monday.
The latest horrific barrage sparked international condemnation, with United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denouncing the attack on “energy and critical civilian infrastructure”.
European Union chief Ursula von der Leyen described the attack as “horrible” and vowed to “stand by Ukraine for as long as it takes.”
“Ukraine can count on us,” Ms von der Leyen said.
Pentagon officials have long been divided on whether to let Ukraine use its provided weapons on targets inside Russia.
“Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about dwindling stockpiles of the weapons,” CNN reported.
“The US refused to even provide ATACMS to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, in part because of readiness concerns as the powerful missiles require time and complex components to produce.
“But Biden secretly approved the transfer of the long-range ATACMS missiles in February for use inside Ukrainian territory, and the US delivered the missiles in April.”
Since then, President Zelenskyy had been lobbying the White House for permission to use the weapons for direct strikes inside Russia.
Mr Biden met with him in September in Washington, at which the Ukrainian leader presented a list of desired targets, CNN reported.
Among them were Russian bases, production facilities, and logistics infrastructure.
In May, the Biden Administration greenlit Ukraine’s use of another US-supplied missile system, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, to hit targets inside Russia, just over its border.
However, those missiles have a much shorter range of about 80 kilometres.
And last week, the White House gave approval for a small group of American military contractors – not enlisted members of the US military – to make repairs to weapons inside Ukraine.
Until now, US contractors have been limited to providing technical advice over the phone only.
They are now permitted to work on the ground to fix everything from air defence systems to F-16 fighter jets.
The development comes as thousands of troops from North Korea assemble in Kursk, alongside an estimated 50,000 Russian soldiers.
America’s shift on the use of its equipment to hit Russia has also been confirmed by AFP, which also spoke to a senior US official about the development.
Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski took to social media to welcome the move.
“With the entry into the war of North Korea troops and [Sunday’s] massive attack of Russian missiles, President Biden responded in a language that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin understands,” Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted on X.
“The victim of aggression has the right to defend himself.”
Ukraine launched a surprising counteroffensive in the southern Russian region in August, delivering some much-needed momentum.
Political and military commentators in the US have said in recent days that Mr Biden and his advisers are orchestrating a strategy to ‘future proof’ Ukraine’s defensive efforts.
That plan could include an additional spend of billions of dollars in aid and resources.
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President-elect Donald Trump will take over in January and has vowed to end the war within a day, although he has repeatedly declined to detail how that feat would be achieved.
In the almost three years since Russia’s invasion, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed.
– with AFP
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