Ukraine probably gets US permission to attack targets in Russia

Will this change the course of the war? US President Joe Biden has allowed Ukraine to use long-range missiles against certain targets in Russia. As the “New York Times”, among others, reports, citing US government representatives, the initial aim is to defend the Kursk region in western Russia, which is occupied by Ukrainians. There are signs of a counteroffensive by Moscow.

The Washington Post writes that the approval is a response to the stationing of thousands of North Korean soldiers in the region. The US Department of Defense initially did not want to comment on the reports.

Specifically, according to reports, it is about allowing the use of rockets for the ATACMS long-range artillery system. The weapons would likely initially be used against Russian and North Korean troops to defend Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region in western Russia, the New York Times quoted the unnamed officials as saying.

So far, the USA has limited the use of its weapons against Russia to defending the Russian offensive against the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Here the USA has allowed the use of the Himars-type rocket launcher system.

Ukraine has long been asking for the release of long-range US-made weapons for use on Russian territory. The reason given by Kiev is that this is the only way to reach Russian military airports from which fighter jets take off to drop glide bombs or fire rockets at Ukrainian targets.