New Delhi: In a move that marks a major change in policy for Washington, US President Joe Biden has given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia. Washington had refused for months to agree to Kyiv’s requests for authorisation to use the ATACMS missiles outside its borders.
On Sunday Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted to the news, which came via briefings from US officials, saying “such things are not announced, missiles speak for themselves,” according to BBC.
Notably, Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously warned Western nations against such a move, saying it would represent the NATO military alliance’s “direct participation” in the Ukraine war. He was yet to comment on the latest development although other senior Kremlin politicians described it as a serious escalation.
Washington’s decision on ATACMS is couched in terms of being limited to the defence of Ukrainian forces inside Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion in August. In effect, the Biden administration is telling Ukraine that it will support its efforts to hold onto the small chunk of Russian territory it currently occupies, as a powerful bargaining chip for any possible negotiations in the future, according to the report.
Serhiy Kuzan, chairman of the Kyiv-based Ukrainian Security and Cooperation Centre, told the BBC that Joe Biden’s decision was “very important” to the country. “It’s not something that will change the course of the war, but I think it will make our forces more equal.”
ATACMS can reach up to 300km (186 miles). Unnamed US officials have told the New York Times and the Washington Post that Biden’s approval of Ukraine’s use of the ATACMS came in response to Russia’s decision to allow North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine.
Kuzan said Sunday’s decision had come ahead of what was an expected assault by Russian and Korean troops, designed to dislodge Ukrainian forces from Russia’s Kursk region. President Biden’s decision will also finally enable Britain and France to permit Ukraine to use long-range Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia.
Meanwhile, Ukraine signalled a new sense of urgency on Monday following Biden’s announcement. President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking in his nightly address to the nation on Sunday, suggested there would be no warning of the first launches.
“Blows are not inflicted with words,” he said. “Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves. They certainly will.”
