After months of lobbying by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, President Biden has authorized the use of long-range missiles provided by the US for strikes deeper into Russia. The decision reverses American policy on the Army Tactical Missile System, NBC News reports. US hesitance was partly driven by concern about a limited stockpile, Russia moving potential targets outside the system's range, and the fact that Ukraine was having success with other weapons, including drones. That was before North Korea sent thousands of troops to Russia who are now positioned in Kursk to help in a battle to retake territory won by Ukraine.
Administration officials have been wary of doing anything that could draw NATO and the US into a direct conflict with Russia, per the AP. And Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned against this decision, per the Washington Post. The US probably would contribute targeting assistance for strikes on Russian territory; Putin said in September that such an operation "changes the very essence, the nature of the conflict" and that Russia would retaliate. US officials describe their change as a limited evolution, per the Post, not a new chapter in the war that began with Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
The move also could gets ahead of President-elect Trump, who has been critical of the level of US aid and said he'll end the war quickly but not said how. "President Biden has committed to making sure that every dollar we have at our disposal will be pushed out the door between now and January 20th," Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Brussels on Wednesday. He was meeting with European allies about how to help Ukraine before Trump takes office. (More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)
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