U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range American missiles against military targets inside Russia, a U.S. official confirmed on Sunday. This decision follows a deadly Russian missile barrage that targeted Ukraine’s power grid, intensifying the ongoing conflict.
Biden Approves ATACMS for Ukraine
The approval grants Kyiv the use of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS), a weapon Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has long requested to strike deeper into Russian territory. The shift in U.S. policy reportedly comes in response to North Korea deploying troops to assist Moscow’s war efforts, as highlighted by The New York Times and The Washington Post.
Poland was among the first nations to applaud the decision.
“With North Korea entering the war and Russia’s massive missile attack, President Biden responded in a language Putin understands,” Polish Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski posted on social media, adding, “The victim of aggression has the right to defend itself.”
Massive Russian Missile Strikes and Power Cuts
Hours before the announcement, Russia launched a large-scale missile assault on Ukraine, killing 19 civilians, including a child, and causing extensive damage to the country’s already fragile energy infrastructure. The attack prompted Ukraine to implement emergency power restrictions nationwide, with state power company Ukrenergo warning of outages as winter approaches.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the strikes, which targeted critical civilian infrastructure. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen described the attack as “horrible,” reiterating Europe’s support for Ukraine.
Mounting Civilian Casualties
The Russian assault, one of its largest in the nearly 1,000-day-old conflict, struck multiple regions, including Sumy, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Odesa. Civilians also died in strikes near the Polish border, leading NATO-member Poland to scramble fighter jets and increase readiness, highlighting the escalating regional security risks.
Meanwhile, Russia reported casualties from Ukrainian drone attacks in its border regions, including Belgorod and Kursk, where North Korean troops are allegedly reinforcing Moscow’s forces.
Global Responses and Criticism
The missile strikes coincided with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s first phone call to Russian President Vladimir Putin in nearly two years, urging an end to the war. Ukraine criticized the call as an “attempt at appeasement,” with Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga declaring, “We need peace through strength, not appeasement.”
French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer echoed these sentiments, asserting that Putin shows no interest in peace. Starmer added that North Korea’s troop deployment alongside Russia signals Moscow’s desperation and poses grave implications for European security.
Ukraine’s Struggle Amid Winter
With winter looming, Ukraine faces its third season of war under deteriorating conditions. President Zelensky has warned that prior Russian attacks have already destroyed half of the nation’s energy capacity, heightening fears of a challenging winter ahead.
Biden’s decision to supply Ukraine with ATACMS marks a significant escalation in military support, underscoring the West’s resolve to counter Moscow’s aggression despite growing global tensions.