US President Joe Biden has approved Ukraine’s use of advanced long-range American weapons within Russian territory, CNN reported on Sunday, citing two US officials familiar with the decision.
This authorization comes as North Korean troops reportedly bolster Moscow’s forces, intensifying the conflict.
The move aligns with Kyiv’s efforts to counter a significant Russian buildup in Kursk, a southern Russian region where Ukraine launched a surprise counteroffensive earlier this year. Nearly 50,000 Russian troops have been deployed to Kursk, aiming to secure the area and remove it as a bargaining chip in future peace negotiations.
"The idea is to help Ukraine hold on to Kursk for as long as possible," a US official stated on Sunday.
For now, the long-range weapons, specifically the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), will primarily be deployed in Kursk. However, the presence of thousands of North Korean troops in the region has raised alarms in Washington. Biden and his advisers fear that North Korea's involvement could escalate the war into a more dangerous phase.
The decision to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with ATACMS follows months of internal debate among US officials, according to CNN. Some expressed concerns about escalating the conflict, while others worried about limited stockpiles of the advanced missiles, which require significant time and resources to produce.
Initially, the US was hesitant even to supply ATACMS to Ukraine, citing readiness issues. However, Biden secretly approved the transfer in February for use within Ukrainian territory, with the first missiles delivered in April.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had consistently urged the US to extend their use to Russian soil, emphasizing the strategic advantage this capability could provide.
Despite escalating tensions in the war, Zelenskyy remains confident. On Friday, he remarked that the war "will end faster with the policy of this team that will now lead the White House," referring to the incoming Trump administration.
Trump repeatedly claimed during the election campaign that if he were President, the Ukraine-Russia conflict would not have begun and has said he could end the war in 24 hours.
Last July, Zelenskyy responded to Trump’s claims and said that his desire to end the war “should be based on some real-life experience. Well, it looks as if Donald Trump had already these 24 hours once in his time. We were at war, not a full-scale war, but we were at war, and as I assume, he had that time at his disposal, but he must have had some other priorities.”
After Trump was elected to a second term in the White House earlier this month, Zelenskyy issued a statement in which he congratulated Trump and said he appreciated Trump’s commitment to peace through strength.