Joe Biden strengthens Ukraine’s hand with long-range missile decision

As Joe Biden winds down his time in the White House, he has finally made the right decision to allow Ukrainian forces to use Western-made long-range weapons known as ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile Systems) to attack targets deep inside Russia. He has taken too long to make up his mind to provide the necessary authorisation and to make it part of his attempt to ensure Kyiv gets the $US7bn ($10.8bn) in weapons it has been promised before Donald Trump, with the uncertainty that surrounds his policy on Ukraine, takes over on January 20.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has pleaded for months for White House permission to use the critical ATACMS, supplied mainly by the US, to strike inside Russia. US restrictions, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday, “gave Moscow the upper hand in the war”, which is approaching its 1000th day.

The ATACMS are superior tactical surface-to-surface missile systems that can strike between 160km and 300km away, well behind Russian lines, especially in the Russian region of Kursk. There, North Korean combat troops, from the force of as many as 12,000 Pyongyang has sent to the battlefront, are fighting alongside 50,000 Russian troops Vladimir Putin has mustered in an attempt to oust invading Ukrainian forces.

White House officials say the ominous development of the deployment of North Korean forces changed Mr Biden’s calculus about Ukraine’s request for the ATACMS. But no less important is for Mr Biden to do as much as he can to help Ukraine before he leaves office. An earlier decision on allowing use of the missiles inside Russia would have helped Kyiv. Given the overwhelming strategic importance to the West of ensuring Putin does not achieve his objectives in Ukraine, Mr Biden is right to be doing all he can to ensure Kyiv receives the weapons it has been promised. Since winning the election, Mr Trump has not repeated his boast that it will take him no more than 24 hours to achieve an end to the conflict.

But he has called for peace negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow, a call that is being echoed by an increasing number of European leaders as they prepare for the uncertainties of Mr Trump’s return. Putin’s response has been Sunday’s massive bombardment of Ukraine with more than 120 Russian missiles and 90 drones attacks across the country.

Precisely what Mr Trump has in mind for Ukraine after he returns to the White House in 63 days is unclear. But amid fears that the incoming administration will curtail arms shipments Ukraine has been promised, Mr Biden is right to do what he can to ensure Kyiv is in the best possible situation. Other allies, including Australia, should do the same. The peace negotiations Mr Trump favours to end the conflict will stand a chance of succeeding only if Ukraine demonstrably has the military capability to make Putin think again about going on with a war that is causing around 1500 Russians to be killed and wounded each day. About 42,000 Russians soldiers were killed or injured last month alone, which has made the war deeply unpopular within Russia.