US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to launch a limited strike on Russia using US-made long-range missiles, in a major policy shift before the end of his White House term in January, two people familiar with the decision said.
Biden’s move comes in response to North Korea’s deployment of thousands of troops to support Russia in its war against Ukraine, and after Moscow’s recent attacks on Ukrainian cities over the weekend.
Tuesday will mark the 1,000th day of Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Biden allowed Ukraine to use HIMARS – America’s High Mobility Artillery Rocket System – to attack targets in Russia.
But he has long refused to allow Kyiv to launch strikes on Russia using US-made long-range missiles known as the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, because it could escalate tensions with Moscow. ATACMS missiles have a range of up to 300 kilometers, or 190 miles.
He is now dropping the objection more than two months before leaving office to make way for Donald Trump. Republicans are skeptical about additional military aid to Ukraine and have pledged to end the war quickly — without saying how they would do it.
The White House declined to comment. The Pentagon declined to respond to a request for comment.
In a late-night speech in Kyiv on Sunday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy noted that media reports “talk about the fact that we have obtained permission” to use ATACMS in Russia, although he did not confirm Biden’s decision.
Zelenskyy has been calling on the US and other western partners for months to lift restrictions placed on long-range weapons authorized for use in Russia.
He said a cross-border strike with American ATACMS, British Storm Shadow and French Scalp missiles was needed to strike Moscow’s forces before they could launch new attacks on Ukrainian targets, including critical infrastructure.
“Two countries are against us, against Ukraine,” Zelenskyy said on Friday, referring to Russia and North Korea. “We are very happy to be given the ability to use long-range weapons against military targets on Russian territory.”
Andriy Zagorodnyuk, Ukraine’s former defense minister, said using ATACMS missiles would allow Kyiv to set “high targets” and “potentially disrupt Russian operations”.
“There are targets that can only be hit by high-load missiles such as ATACMS or similar aerial missiles. This, of course, is a decision that gives the Ukrainian forces a chance, although many previous decisions were made after a significant and painful delay.
Biden’s decision to allow the Ukrainians to use ATACMS missiles followed the deployment earlier last month of about 12,000 North Korean troops to Russia.
It was the first attack in the war by a foreign military and a major expansion of North Korea’s support for Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Pyongyang has previously supplied Moscow with hundreds of ballistic missiles and millions of artillery shells. In exchange, Moscow has provided Pyongyang with military technology to help with its missile program and money, a senior Ukrainian official said.
In recent weeks, Moscow has mobilized around 50,000 troops, including 10,000 North Korean soldiers, ahead of an anticipated offensive in Russia’s Kursk region to retake the 600 square km area held by Ukrainian forces since an offensive in August.
American ATACMS missiles were likely first used by Ukraine to target Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region.
A Ukrainian intelligence assessment shared with the Financial Times states that North Korea has supplied Russia with long-range rockets and artillery weapons, including 50 domestically manufactured 170mm M1989 self-propelled howitzers and 20 upgraded 240mm multiple launch rocket systems.
Some of these weapons have been moved to the Kursk region for a planned attack involving North Korean forces.
“Although limited to the Kursk region, ATACMS missiles threaten Russian systems, assembly areas, logistics, command and control,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.
“They could allow Ukraine to hold Kursk longer and raise the costs to North Korea for its involvement in the war.”
Bill Taylor, the former US ambassador to Ukraine, said Biden’s decision made “Ukraine stronger and increases the chances of just ending the war”.
“The decision could also open up British and French missiles. It could also be German,” he said.
When asked about the risk of escalation from a change in US policy, António Guterres, the UN secretary general, told reporters at the G20 in Rio de Janeiro: “We have a very consistent position on the escalation in the war in Ukraine. We want peace… in line with the charter The United Nations and international law.”
Russia has not yet responded to the move. In September, Vladimir Putin said that the US authorization means “the direct involvement of NATO countries, the US, and the EU . . . This means that they are at war with Russia – and if that is the case, we will make the appropriate decision.”
Russian military bloggers close to the Kremlin responded on Telegram with anger and frustration at the news.
Rybar, a channel with more than 1.3 million subscribers, said the ATACMS missile threat would force Russian command and control centers, air defenses and airfields further from the front lines.
Additional reporting by Henry Foy and Anastasia Stogni
