The president of the United States, Joe Biden, would have authorized Ukraine to employ long-range US weapons against Russiaas reported by several US media citing sources familiar with the matter.
Washington would have thus authorized limited attacks within Russian territory in response to the presence of thousands of North Korean soldiers on the front to reinforce the Russian offensive in eastern Ukraine, media outlets such as ‘The Washington Post’ and ‘The New York Times’ report.
Warning to North Korea not to send more troops to Ukraine
First of all, this change seeks to be deterrent against North Korea so that it does not send more troops to Russia and perceives that the presence in the area is a “costly” mistake, according to one of the ‘Washington Post’ sources.
Therefore, the attacks will initially focus on the Kursk region, where Ukrainian forces already control a small portion of Russian territory and precisely where North Korean soldiers have been deployed since October.
Until now banned for fear of escalation
Specifically, kyiv will be able to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against targets in Russian territory, which was until now banned for fear of escalation, and it is especially relevant because this decision has been made less than two months after the replacement in the White House after the Donald Trump’s victory in the presidential elections of November 5. Trump has promised to end the war in Ukraine.
The authorization “is going to have a very specific and limited effect” on the battlefield to avoid a possible escalation, according to another source from ‘The Washington Post’. ATACMS is a system of supersonic missiles guided missiles that can carry a cluster or conventional bomb warhead that has a maximum range of about 305 kilometers.
Biden wants to strengthen Ukraine’s position
Other sources have suggested that Biden intends with this gesture strengthen Ukraine’s position with a view to a possible negotiation with Moscow once Trump comes to power in January.
