The White House has authorized Ukraine to use advanced American-made weapons for strikes deep within Russian territory, marking a notable shift in U.S. policy on the Ukraine-Russia conflict, according to two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision. President Joe Biden has relaxed restrictions on Kyiv’s use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) for operations inside Russia, the sources reported. Ukraine is expected to carry out its first long-range attacks in the coming days, although specific details remain undisclosed for operational security reasons.
For months, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the US to allow his forces to hit targets deeper in Russia with Western-supplied weapons. He and other Ukraine supporters have argued the current restriction makes it impossible to try to stop Russian attacks on Ukrainian cities and its energy grids. The US had been opposed to allowing such strikes for fear they could escalate the war and draw the US and other NATO nations into direct conflict with Moscow.
But Biden appears to have relented now that the momentum has shifted towards Moscow. Thousands of North Korean troops have been deployed along Ukraine’s northern border in support of the Kremlin’s offensive to reclaim territory in Kursk. The easing of the restrictions will allow Ukraine to hit targets near Russia’s border and also in the eastern part of its territory, which is closer to its border.
Russia has warned that any such attack could lead to a third world war and accused the United States of trying to provoke one. A Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told journalists that the United States’ decision would only “add fuel to the fire” and help escalate the conflict.
The upcoming administration of Donald Trump, which will replace Biden on January 20, has signaled that it is more skeptical of heavily supporting Ukraine in its fight with Russia and has raised doubts about whether it will continue the current heavy aid package. The Trump team has said it will take a more pragmatic approach to the conflict and will work with Ukraine’s new government on ending the war.
Incoming Defense Secretary James Mattis has said that he supports Kyiv’s position in the war and that he is confident that Trump will support Ukraine and its ally, Poland. However, the incoming administration will have to find ways to reduce the cost of the war without drawing the US into direct conflict with Moscow. One possible approach may be to reduce the amount of money the US spends on providing ATACMS rockets. The weapons are a significant part of the US military assistance to Ukraine and have been expensive for Kyiv to maintain and deploy. The US is still a major supplier of arms to Ukraine, but its budget has been stretched thin by other priorities, such as the fight against the Islamic State. The Pentagon has also been slashing other parts of its budget, with the Trump administration focusing on cutting bureaucracy and spending on new weaponry.
