Two US officials and a source accustomed to the choice said on Sunday that President Joe Biden's administration had allowed Ukraine to make use of US-made weapons to penetrate deep into Russia, marking a big reversal in Washington's policy on Ukraine -Russia conflict.
Ukraine plans to perform its first long-range strikes in the approaching days, the sources said, without revealing details as a consequence of operational security concerns.
The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to permit the Ukrainian military to make use of U.S. weapons to attack Russian military targets removed from the border.
The change was largely a response to Russia's use of North Korean ground troops to complement its own forces, a development that has caused concern in Washington and Kiev, a U.S. official and a source accustomed to the choice said.
The White House and State Department declined to comment. Ukraine's foreign ministry and the president's office didn’t immediately reply to requests for comment.
Russia has warned that easing restrictions on Ukraine's use of American weapons would represent a significant escalation.
According to the sources, Ukraine's first deep strikes are more likely to be carried out with ATACMS missiles, which have a variety of as much as 190 miles (306 km).
While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the general course of the war, the choice could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making headway and potentially put Kiev in a greater negotiating position if and if there are ceasefire negotiations.
It is just not clear whether Trump will reverse Biden's decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the extent of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to quickly end the war without explaining how.
A Trump spokesman didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment. But one in every of Trump's closest foreign policy advisers, Richard Grenell, criticized the choice.
“The wars are escalating before he leaves office,” Grenell said in an X post responding to the news.
Some Republicans in Congress had called on Biden to chill out rules on Ukraine's use of U.S.-supplied weapons.
Since Trump's victory on November 5, senior Biden administration officials have repeatedly said they might use the remaining time to make sure Ukraine can fight effectively next 12 months or negotiate peace with Russia from a “position of strength.”
“Much too late”
The US believes that greater than 10,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to eastern Russia and that the majority of them have moved to the Kursk region and begun combat operations.
Russia is advancing at its fastest pace since 2022 despite heavy losses, and Ukraine said it had clashed with among the North Korean troops stationed in Kursk.
Due to a shortage of personnel, Ukrainian forces have lost among the ground they captured in an August invasion of Kursk, which Zelensky said could function a basis for negotiations.
“Removing targeting restrictions will allow Ukrainians to stop fighting with one hand tied behind their back,” said Alex Plitsas, senior non-resident fellow on the Atlantic Council.
“However, like everything else, I believe history will say that the decision came far too late. Just like the ATACMS, HIMARS, Bradley Fighting Vehicles, Abrams Tanks and F-16s. They were all needed much earlier,” he added.
Despite Zelensky's pleas, the White House was reluctant to permit using U.S. weapons to attack targets deep inside Russia for fear it could escalate the conflict.
Kiev's other allies have supplied weapons, but with restrictions on how and after they could be used inside Russia. Fears that such attacks could trigger retaliation that would draw NATO countries into war or provoke a nuclear conflict.
Poland's Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski also described the move as a response to North Korea's involvement.
“President Biden responded to the entry of North Korean troops into the war and the massive Russian missile attack in a language V. Putin understands – by lifting restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western missiles,” Sikorski said on X.
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