U.S. approves Kiev´s use of long-range missiles inside Russia

U.S. President Biden has approved Ukraine’s use of ATACMS missiles to defend its forces, particularly in the Kursk region, which is partly occupied by Ukrainian troops, reported dpa, quoting media.

While the Pentagon and National Security Council declined to comment, they did not deny the reports.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has expressed approval of reports that US President Joe Biden is allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against specific targets in Russia.

Speaking to German broadcaster rbb Inforadio, Baerbock emphasized the importance of enabling Ukraine to neutralize threats at their source.

"Ukrainians shouldn't have to wait for rockets to cross the border - they should be able to destroy launch sites directly," Baerbock stated, citing the principle of self-defence.

Meanwhile, Biden's decision to allow Kiev to deploy U.S. long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia would escalate the Ukrainian conflict, reported Xinhua, quoting local media on Monday, citing the Kremlin.

In a major shift of his administration's policy on the Ukraine crisis, Biden has authorized Kiev to use U.S.-supplied long-range missiles, or the Army Tactical Missile System, to strike targets inside Russia, U.S. media reported on Sunday.

"If such a decision were indeed formulated and conveyed to the Kiev regime, then ... this would mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and a qualitatively new situation in terms of U.S. involvement in this conflict," Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

He reiterated that Moscow's stance on this issue should be clear to everyone.

"It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington plans to take steps, as they have said, aimed at fueling the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict," Peskov said.