Washington:
The US had never approved Kyiv to use long-range missiles in Russia, until now.
The Biden administration has made a significant policy change, allowing Ukraine to use US-made ATACMS missiles to strike targets inside Russia for the first time.
This decision comes just two months before President Joe Biden hands over power to Donald Trump, who has expressed scepticism about US military aid to Ukraine.
Ukraine has been using ATACMS missiles against Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory for over a year, but the US had previously prohibited their use inside Russia due to concerns about escalating the conflict.
“It would substantially change the very essence, the nature of the conflict. This will mean that Nato countries, the USA and European states, are fighting with Russia”, Putin had said in September.
However, the recent deployment of North Korean troops to support Russia in the Kursk border region has prompted the policy change.
The Lockheed Martin ballistic missiles are some of the most powerful missiles provided to Ukraine, with a range of up to 300km (186 miles), and will likely be used to defend against Russian and North Korean troops in the Kursk region, targeting military bases, infrastructure, and ammunition storage.
Officials from both the countries – Ukraine and US expect a counter-offensive by Russia and North Korea to regain the Kursk territory.
While the supply of missiles may not be enough to turn the tide of the war, they could grant Ukraine an advantage at a time when Russian troops are gaining ground in the country’s east.
Western diplomats have welcomed the decision as an “overdue symbolic move” to demonstrate military support for Ukraine, but caution that it may not be decisive.
“The West has decided on such a level of escalation that it could end with the Ukrainian statehood in complete ruins by morning,” Andrei Klishas, a Senator of the Russian Federation said.
Vladimir Dzhabarov, also a Senator of the Russian Federation, has said that this is a “very big step” towards World War Three.
Donald Trump’s stance on the issue remains unclear, with some of his officials advocating for continued aid to Ukraine while others suggest cutting off support.
His son, Donald Trump Jr, wrote this on social media, “The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War Three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”
National Security Adviser Michael Waltz says that Trump might accelerate the delivery of weapons to Ukraine to get Russia to negotiate. Since the president-elect had a goal of resolving the conflict within a day, this might support his plan.
However, JD Vance, Vice President elect said “we’ve done more than our fair share” during a speech in May. “I do not think that it is in America’s interest to continue to fund an effectively never-ending war in Ukraine,” he added.
According to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation, the US has allocated 56.799 billion euros as military help as of October 2024 and stands as the greatest supplier of arms to Ukraine.
