Joe Biden allows Ukraine to use US arms to strike inside Russia

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden’s administration will allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, three sources familiar with the matter said, in a significant change to Washington’s policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The White House declined to comment.

The move by the United States two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 follows months of requests by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow Ukraine’s military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

The change follows Russia’s deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv.

The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles (306 km), according to the sources.

While some US officials have expressed scepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the war’s overall trajectory, the decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks happen.

It is not clear if Trump will reverse Joe Biden’s decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of U.S. financial and military aid to Ukraine and has vowed to end the war quickly, without explaining how.

Still, some congressional Republicans have urged Joe Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use US-provided weapons.

Russia has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine’s use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation.

Earlier on November 17, blasts shook Ukraine’s capital Kyiv and other cities, while neighbouring Poland scrambled its air force early after the two countries said a Russian missile attack was underway.

“Due to the massive attack by the Russian Federation using cruise missiles, ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles on objects located, among others, in western Ukraine, Polish and allied aircraft have started operating in our airspace,” the operational command of NATO member Poland’s armed forces posted on X.

It said it had “activated all available forces and resources at his disposal, the on-duty fighter pairs were scrambled, and the ground-based air defence and radar reconnaissance systems reached the highest state of readiness”.

Blasts were heard in Ukraine’s southeastern city of Zaporizhzhia and the Black Sea port of Odesa, Reuters witnesses said, and Ukraine’s air force issued air raid alerts for all the country., although the scale of the attack was unclear.

The air force urged residents to take cover and said a number of missiles, including different types of cruise missiles, were flying through Ukrainian airspace.

Ukrainian officials said they had cut power to a number of regions, including Kyiv, as a preventative step.

The missile attack followed an overnight drone strike on Ukraine’s capital. The roof of a residential building caught fire due to falling debris and at least one person was injured, city officials said on the Telegram messaging app.

“Emergency services were dispatched to the scene,” Kyiv’s Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Ukraine has been on alert for weeks, fearing a major Russian missile attack as winter sets in. Previous attacks have targeted the power grid and caused sweeping blackouts.