Biden authorizes Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles against Russia

MANAUS, Brazil President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing weapons limitations as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to bolster its war, according to a U.S. official and three others. people who know the subject.

The decision allowing kyiv to use the Army's Tactical Missile System, or ATACM, for attacks further inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along the northern border of Ukraine to try to recover hundreds of kilometers of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

Biden's decision also follows the presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who said he would end the war quickly and raised uncertainty over whether his administration would continue vital military support to states -United with Ukraine.

Read more: What Trump's victory means for the world

The official and others with knowledge of the matter were not authorized to publicly discuss the U.S. decision and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's reaction on Sunday was particularly moderate.

Strikes are not done with words, he said during his nightly video speech. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.

Zelensky and many of his Western supporters have been pressuring Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the ban had prevented Ukraine from trying to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical installations. grids.

Zelensky's statement came shortly after he posted a condolence message on Telegram following a Russian attack on a nine-story building that killed at least eight people in the northern city of Sumy, 40 kilometers away. from the border with Russia.

Russia also launched a massive drone and missile attack, described by officials as the largest in recent months, targeting energy infrastructure and killing civilians. The attack comes as fears grow over Moscow's intentions to devastate Ukraine's power generation capacity ahead of winter.

And this is the answer to everyone who tried to achieve something with Putin through talks, phone calls, hugs and appeasement, Zelensky said.

The comment appeared to be a criticism of German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke with Putin on Friday in the first such call with a sitting leader of a major Western power in almost two years.

Some advocates have argued that U.S. limitations and other constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraine's NATO allies.

Biden had remained oppositional, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he said could draw the United States and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

Putin warned that Moscow could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets if NATO allies allowed Ukraine to use their weapons to attack Russian territory.

News of Biden's decision follows meetings over the past two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China. The addition of North Korean troops was at the heart of talks held on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.

Read more: How Asia is preparing for Trump's second term

Biden did not mention the move during a speech during a stop in Brazil's Amazon rainforest on his way to the Group of 20 summit.

Asked about the decision, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told reporters that the UN's position was to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.

We want peace, we want a just peace, António Guterres said on Sunday before the summit in Rio de Janeiro. He did not specify.

The longer-range missiles will likely be used in response to North Korea's decision to support Putin's invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people familiar with the matter.

The overall supply of ATACMS missiles is limited, so U.S. officials have questioned in the past whether they could provide enough to Ukraine to make a difference. Some Ukraine supporters say even a few long-range strikes deeper inside Russia would force its military to change its deployments and spend more of its resources.

North Korea has sent thousands of troops to Russia to help Moscow reclaim land in the Kursk border region that Ukraine seized this year. The introduction of North Korean troops into the conflict comes as Moscow sees a favorable change in dynamics. Trump has indicated he could push Ukraine to agree to cede some land seized by Russia to end the conflict.

As many as 12,000 North Korean troops have been sent to Russia, according to American, South Korean and Ukrainian estimates. U.S. and South Korean intelligence officials say North Korea has also supplied Russia with significant quantities of munitions to replenish its dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Trump, who takes office in January, has talked for months as a candidate about wanting the war between Russia and Ukraine to end, but he has mostly evaded questions about whether he wants it to end. Ukraine, an ally of the United States, wins.

He also repeatedly criticized the Biden administration for providing tens of billions of dollars in aid to kyiv. His victory leads Ukraine's international supporters to fear that any rushed settlement will mainly benefit Putin.

America is Ukraine's most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.

However, worried about Russia's response, the Biden administration has repeatedly delayed the provision of some specific advanced weapons sought by Ukraine, agreeing only under pressure from kyiv, its supporters and in consultation with its allies.

This initially includes refusing Zelensky's demands for advanced tanks, Patriot air defense systems and F-16 fighter jets, among other systems.

The White House agreed in May to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons for limited strikes just across the border with Russia.

Long, Miller, Knickmeyer and Lee reported from Washington. Associated Press writer Will Weissert in West Palm Beach, Fla., and Hanna Arhirova in Kyiv contributed to this report.

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