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Biden authorizes long-range missile use by Ukraine, sources say
President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, according the Associated Press. This is a 'major shift' as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Trump pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
President Joe Biden has authorized the use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, sources familiar with the matter told The Associated Press.
It’s the first time the U.S. has allowed such weapons for Ukraine. It marks a major policy shift.
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The move comes as Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
A resident walks next to a destroyed building as the Russia-Ukraine war continues on November 14, 2024 in Myrnohrad, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. (Photo by Piotr Sobik/Anadolu via Getty Images)
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The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea's decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to the AP’s sources.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.
Some supporters have argued that this and other U.S. constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies.
Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the U.S. and other NATO members into direct conflict with Russia.