The American newspapers "New York Times" and "Washington Post" write that two months before the end of his term, US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to fire long-range US missiles at targets deep inside Russian territory, noting that this is a significant turn in Washington's policy.
The British "Guardian" indicates that the information, which has not yet been officially announced by the White House, was submitted to a coordinated briefing before the representatives of the two mentioned American publications and the global agencies Reuters and Associated Press. The media in question did not name the American representatives who submitted the information. It comes on the eve of the thousandth day since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which will be celebrated tomorrow at an extraordinary meeting of the European Parliament in Brussels.
Biden for the first time authorized the Ukrainian army to use the ATACMS missile systems (ATACMS, an abbreviation of the Army Tactical Missile System), notes the Washington Post, specifying that the use of these weapons US production to strike inside Russia will be "limited".
The decision - about which in his comment in the "Washington Post" the military expert on Russia and Ukraine of the Carnegie Foundation for International Peace; Michael Coffman makes the stipulation "if true" - is a response to the "surprising" (according to US officials) transfer of North Korean servicemen to the ranks of the Russian army to fight with Ukrainian forces. It's also a significant U.S. policy shift that comes after about 10,000 North Koreans were sent to the Kursk region to help Russian troops try to retake territory seized by Kiev forces in early August.
The transfer of thousands of North Koreans to the front in Russia led to a change in Biden's accounts, another American publication - "The Wall Street Journal" states on the subject.
At the same time "Washington Post" recalls that the newly elected president of the USA - the Republican Donald Trump, who will take over the White House from the Democrat Biden in two months, signaled that he intends to end the war in Ukraine, without, however, clarifying exactly how this will be done.< /p>
The Biden administration fears that the Russian army may be joined by more military personnel from the North Korean special forces, writes Justin Porter in this American publication. The author cited a US official who said Washington's move was part of efforts to deter Pyongyang from sending more troops to Russia. According to the representative in question, North Korean leader Kim Jong-un should be made to understand that he has made a "costly" error, writes the "Washington Post".
According to another American representative quoted by the capital newspaper, the permission to use the ATAKMS missiles "will have a very specific and limited effect" on the battlefield, with the goal of minimizing concerns about an escalation of war.
"This would bring operational benefits to Ukraine, allowing it to hold on to captured territory in Russia's Kursk region and help it overcome the advantage the Russian military is getting with reinforcements from North Korea in a specific sector of the front,'' the opinion said. of the "Carnegie" expert Coffman, speaking to the "Washington Post".
The American ATAKMS missiles will be used by the Ukrainian army for the first time precisely in the Kursk region, states the other American newspaper, which disseminated the information received from American representatives - the "New York Times". Biden's election two months before handing over power to his successor Trump, who has announced a cut in aid to Ukraine, has led to a split among his advisers, writes the "New York Times".
The newspaper recalls that Biden began to ease restrictions on the use of US-supplied weapons on Russian territory after Russia launched a cross-border offensive in May in the direction of Kharkiv - the second largest city in Ukraine.
To help the Ukrainians defend the city, the US president allowed them to use the HIMARS highly mobile artillery missile system (HIMARS), which has a range of about 80 kilometers (50 miles), against Russian forces, according to the "New York Times". The newspaper adds that then Biden did not allow the Ukrainians to use the ATAKMS missiles, which have a much greater range, to protect Kharkiv.
The British v. "Garden" in turn commented that the President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky had tacitly confirmed the information about the authorization from Biden for the ATAKMS missiles, saying that "any evidence of the change in (US) policy would appear on the battlefield if and when the missiles are used".
Another British publication - "Independent", draws attention to Moscow's warning that it will accept an authorization to use US missiles by the Ukrainian army as an "escalation" of the conflict. The newspaper also recalls the fact that Ukrainian President Zelensky has been pushing for such a permit for months, having supporters in both the Republican and Democratic parties of the USA.
According to the Guardian, while some US officials are skeptical that allowing long-range strikes will change the overall course of the war, the decision could help Ukraine at a time when Russian forces are taking territory, and possibly to put Kiev in a better negotiating position "when and if there are ceasefire talks".
The decision taken by Washington responds to a long-standing request by the Ukrainian president to use US weapons to strike military targets far from the border, in particular the airfields used by the Russian air force to bomb Ukraine, the view expressed and from the French in. "Mond".