U.S. President Joe Biden's administration has for the first time authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-made long-range weapons against Russia, The New York Times reported Sunday, citing anonymous U.S. officials.
The major policy change follows months of appeals from Kyiv and has the potential to profoundly change the shape of the war. Moscow has repeatedly warned the West against allowing Ukraine to strike at targets deep inside Russia, with President Vladimir Putin warning this would put NATO "at war" with Moscow.
According to The New York Times, Ukraine is likely to use the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, system to defend its troops against Russian and North Korean forces in Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv has held territory since launching a bold cross-border incursion in early August.
The newspaper's sources said that the Biden administration's move is a response to Russia's deployment of North Korean troops to the Kursk region.
"One of the goals of the policy change, they said, is to send a message to the North Koreans that their forces are vulnerable and that they should not send more of them," The New York Times wrote.
However, U.S. officials cited by NYT said they do not expect the policy change to fundamentally alter the course of the war.
U.S. officials had previously said they believed the ATACMS missiles would make a limited difference to Ukraine's campaign and they also wanted to ensure that Washington's own stocks of the munitions were not depleted.
The American shift is likely to have wider repercussions and lead European allies to review their stances.
The U.S. and Britain have provided Ukraine with ATACMS and Storm Shadow long-range missiles, respectively.
Germany has refused to supply Ukraine with its Taurus missiles with a range of over 500 kilometers (310 miles) over fears that they could hit Russian territory.
Biden's decision comes as he prepares to hand over power to President-elect Donald Trump, who has promised to bring the conflict to an end in a negotiation that is expected to force Ukraine to hand over territory.
AFP contributed reporting.
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