For months, Ukraine has been calling for it to be allowed to use Western-provided weapons against targets inside Russian territory to better defend itself well from Russian attacks. So far, the US has refused. US President Joe Biden feared that this could involve the US and other NATO countries in a direct conflict with Russia, German public broadcaster ARD recalls. But here's a clear change of course: According to media reports, Biden has authorized Ukraine to use US long-range weapons in the Kursk region.
According to the "New York Times" and other American publications, the reason for rethinking the so far restrained position is the sending of thousands of North Korean soldiers to fight for Russia. They also point out that it was initially about the use of ATASMS missiles in Russia's Kursk region, which Ukraine captured by surprise in August and where a Russian counteroffensive is now expected with the help of North Korean troops. These missiles can hit targets at a distance of up to 300 kilometers, German public television recalls. Also, Biden only has two months left in office before Donald Trump takes office.
Former NATO commander: the measure is too late
In this regard, the former supreme commander of NATO forces in Europe, Wesley Clark, tells CNN that, in his opinion, the measure comes too late, and moreover, it is insufficient. Still, he thinks it could help Ukraine in possible negotiations. If Ukraine, with the help of the United States, manages to hold the Russian Kursk region, this will provide it with a better starting point for negotiations, the general explained to CNN.
One of the many unanswered questions remains whether Donald Trump will support a change of US course in favor of Ukraine. His former national security adviser, John Bolton, expects just the opposite - aid to Ukraine will be cut, Bolton told CNN.
However, there are also suggestions that Trump may support one last major military effort by Ukraine before urging Kiev and Moscow to the negotiating table. So far, Trump has only announced that he wants to force Ukraine and Russia to start negotiations as quickly as possible to end the war.
However, one thing is certain: that Joe Biden's change of course will reignite the debate in other NATO countries as well. It is entirely possible, for example, that Britain and France would also allow Ukraine to use their weapons against targets in Russia. In Germany, this is already a fact - the topic of the delivery and deployment of long-range "Taurus" cruise missiles is again on the agenda.
Reactions in Europe
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sibiga said it was important "to drop all restrictions on the use of American and British weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia". And his Polish colleague Radoslav Shikorski wrote in the X platform that Ukraine has the right to defend itself. In his words, Biden responded to the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia and the massive Russian missile attacks against Ukraine "in the only language that Vladimir Putin understands". "The victim of aggression has the right to defend himself", he also wrote.
According to Federal Foreign Minister Analena Berbok, with this decision the US is allowing Ukraine to destroy Russian missile launch bases. Some Ukrainian cities are so close to the border with Russia that air defenses would not help because the missile would hit too quickly, she told German public broadcaster RBB.
Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis believes that it is not clear whether Ukraine has enough ATACMS missiles to change the situation on the battlefield. "I'm not going to open the champagne yet," said Landsbergis, who along with the other Baltic states has long campaigned intensively for more military support for Ukraine.
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell welcomed the US decision and called on EU member states to also allow the use of weapons for Ukrainian attacks in Russia. "I have said more than once that Ukraine should be able to use the weapons we supply not only to stop the arrows, but also to hit the shooters."
Russia again scares with World War III
The reports of the American media provoked sharp criticism in Russia. Attacks with American missiles deep in the Russian regions would inevitably lead to a serious escalation with very serious consequences, the chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the State Duma, Leonid Slutsky, told the TASS agency.
The warning of the first deputy chairman of the Committee on International Affairs in the Council of the Federation, Vladimir Yabarov, sounded even clearer. He also told TASS that the authorization was an unprecedented step that could lead to the start of a third world war. Russia's reaction would follow immediately, ARD adds to his words.
Rep. Maria Butina said the Biden administration is trying to escalate things while it's still in power. Butina, who spent 15 months in an American prison for espionage, is from the parliamentary group of the ruling party "United Russia", the German publication recalls. She strongly hopes that if Biden has indeed made this decision, Trump will reverse it when he comes to power.
The Russian government has not yet commented on the matter. In mid-September, however, Vladimir Putin warned that approval of such a move by the West would mean "direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine". A few weeks ago, Putin said that the Russian Ministry of Defense was preparing several possible responses.
American President Joe Biden has not yet commented on the information.
Authors: Ralf Borchardt (ARD) | Björn Blaschke (ARD)