US President Joe Biden has granted Ukraine what it has been desperately seeking for months: the ability to strike targets deep inside Russia with long-range Western missiles. And immediately after the US, Britain and France have also made decisions allowing the Ukrainians to strike targets deep inside Russia with SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles.
This was confirmed to Reuters by three sources familiar with the decision. It is a significant change in US policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Ukraine plans to carry out its first long-range strikes in the coming days, the sources said, without disclosing details due to concerns about operational security. The White House declined to comment on the information, which has certainly reached Russia, raising questions about the motive for making it public.
The policy change came after it became clear that Russia was supplementing its own forces with North Korean soldiers and sending them into battle against the Ukrainian army. North Korea’s involvement in the war, Reuters recalls, has caused alarm in Washington and Kiev.
According to Le Figaro, immediately after the US, the UK and France also made a decision allowing the Ukrainians to use Western long-range SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles to attack targets deep inside Russia.
The first strikes on targets deep inside Russia will likely be carried out using ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 306 kilometers.
Although some US officials have expressed doubts that allowing long-range strikes on Russia would change the course of the war, the decision could help Ukraine at a time when Russian forces are making gains and perhaps put Kiev in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks are held.
It is not clear whether Donald Trump, who took office on January 20, will reverse Biden’s decision. He has long criticized the extent of US financial and military aid to Ukraine and promised a quick end to the war, without explaining how. And the fact that he has no influence on Vladimir Putin has been confirmed in all these days since the election.
Russia has warned that it will consider any relaxation of restrictions on Ukrainian use of US weapons as an escalation.
