Monday Briefing: Ukraine Can Hit Russia With U.S. Long-Range Weapons

A building in Russian-controlled Ukraine that was damaged in June by ATACMS missiles, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.Credit…Alexander Ermochenko/Reuters

Ukraine can use U.S. long-range weapons against Russia

President Biden will allow Ukraine for the first time to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, U.S. officials said.

The permission to use the missiles, called Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, came in response to Russia’s decision to bring North Korean troops into the fight, officials said. The weapons are likely to be initially used in defense of Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of western Russia, the officials said.

Russian forces are set to launch a major assault on dug-in Ukrainian positions there with an estimated 50,000 soldiers, including North Korean troops. The Kremlin’s goal is to retake all of the territory Ukrainians seized during their incursion in August.

If Kyiv’s forces use the ATACMS missiles to strike key Russian and North Korean military targets, they could help the blunt the joint assault. The Ukrainians hope that they would be able to trade any Russian territory they hold in the Kursk region for Ukrainian territory held by Russia in future negotiations.

Context: The decision is a major change in U.S. policy. In two months, President-elect Donald Trump will take office, and he has vowed to limit further support for Ukraine.

In related coverage:

• Russia renewed its campaign to destroy Ukraine’s battered power grid.

• “Is everybody alive?” In July, a Russian missile hit a maternity clinic in Ukraine and turned life and death into a lottery.