Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky noted that there may not be an official announcement of the US agreement – “the missiles will speak for themselves,” he said on Sunday.
Ukraine may first use ATACMS in Kursk – in fact, some reports indicate that the US may have limited its use there as a signal to North Korea to stop sending aid to Russia and Moscow itself.
Biden’s approval of long-range missiles – which could be followed by similar approvals from Britain and France – is seen in the West as a way to signal to the Russian leader that he cannot win the war in Ukraine militarily.
Putin did not comment on the latest move.
In September, the Russian leader said that the use of such missiles by Ukraine would mean “direct participation” of NATO countries in the war.
On Monday, Putin’s spokesman said the US was “adding fuel to the fire”.
But John Feiner, the US deputy national security adviser, said Washington had made it clear to the Russians that we would respond — both to the presence of North Korean forces and to a “major escalation” of Russian airstrikes on infrastructure across Ukraine.
Over the weekend, intensive Russian attacks on Ukraine’s power grid took place, which led to large-scale power outages. Several people were killed or wounded.
On Monday, as a result of the Russian attack on Odessa, 10 more people were killed and about 50 were injured.
