Biden allows Ukraine to strike only one region of Russia — Axios
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Ukraine has been authorized to strike with long-range weapons only at the Kursk region of Russia. First of all, this is a signal to North Korea not to send its troops to wage war against Ukraine.
This was reported by Axios on Monday, November 18.
Permission for Ukraine to strike at Russia
For the first time, US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range weapons to strike the Kursk region of Russia, where Russian and North Korean troops are currently stationed.
The source emphasized that ATACMS missiles were authorized for use only in the Kursk region. It is noted that Ukraine was informed of this decision about three days ago.
The purpose of the decision is to deter North Korea from sending additional soldiers to Russia for the war against Ukraine.
"U.S. officials hope that if North Korean troops in Kursk are hit, Pyongyang may reconsider its decision to send troops to Russia and the Russian counterattack in Kursk will fail," the report said.
A Pentagon spokesman declined to comment on the issue.
Last month, Kremlin leader Vladimir Putin said that authorizing strikes on Russia would mean "direct participation" of NATO countries in the war.
A Russia expert at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) think tank said the authorization should not be limited to the Kursk region and added that Biden should lift the restriction.
"Allowing Ukraine to strike high-priority targets across Russia could put Kyiv in a better position in potential negotiations, including by encouraging Moscow to agree to a moratorium on strikes on critical energy infrastructure," said FDD Deputy Director John Hardy.
As a reminder, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda said that allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons on Russian territory is a crucial moment in the fight against the aggressor.
The commander of the Third Assault Brigade, Dmytro Kukharchuk, noted that the war is a holistic, complex event, so there is no point in relying on individual types of weapons.
We also wrote that France and the UK allowed Ukraine to launch long-range strikes on Russian territory with SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles.
