The Ukrainian authorities had long asked to be able to strike Russia. This political change comes as Ukraine's energy network has been hit.
The administration of US President Joe Biden lifted the restrictions that until now prevented Ukraine to use weapons supplied by the United States to strike deep into Russian territory, three sources familiar with the decision said on Sunday. kyiv plans to carry out sThe first long-range attacks in the coming daysthe sources added, without revealing details due to operational security concerns. The White House declined to comment.
A long-standing request
The decision taken by Joe Biden a little more than two months before his successor, Donald Trump, took office on January 20, responds to a long-standing request of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to be able to use American weapons to strike military targets far from his border, in particular the airfields used by the Russian air force to bomb Ukraine.
Washington's policy shift comes as Moscow carried out another massive missile strike against Ukraine's energy grid on Sunday. It also follows the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia's Kursk region to fight against the Ukrainian army, a development that has caused concern in Washington and kyiv. The first deep strikes will probably be carried out using ATACMS missiles, with a range of up to 306 kmaccording to sources.
“A major escalation” for Russia
Although some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that authorizing long-range strikes could change the general trajectory of the war, The move could help Ukraine at a time when Russian forces are gaining ground and could place kyiv in a better negotiating position if ceasefire talks were to take place.
It is not certain that Donald Trump will reverse Joe Biden's decision when he takes office, even if the president-elect is very critical of the extent of American financial and military aid to Ukraine and s is engaged to end the war “in 24 hours”without explaining how. The measure also benefits from the support of certain Republican elected officials in Congress, who have long called on President Biden to lift the restrictions imposed to Ukraine. Russia has repeatedly said that it would consider any American decision in this direction as a “major escalation”.
