Ukraine hits Russia with Western-made missiles for first time: Report

Ukrainian armed forces carried out their first strike in a border region within Russian territory with an ATACMS missile, RBC Ukraine reports, citing an official in the nation’s military.

This comes after US President Joe Biden has authorised Ukraine to use American-supplied long-range missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its war, a US official and three people familiar with the matter told news agency AP.

The decision allowing Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMs, for attacks farther inside Russia comes as President Vladimir Putin positions North Korean troops along Ukraine’s northern border to try to reclaim hundreds of miles of territory seized by Ukrainian forces.

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Biden’s move also follows the presidential election victory of Donald Trump, who has said he would bring about a swift end to the war and raised uncertainty about whether his administration would continue the US’ vital military support for Ukraine.

The longer-range missiles are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to support Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, according to one of the people. The official and the people familiar with the matter were not authorised to discuss the decision publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been pressing Biden for months to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deeper inside Russia with Western-supplied missiles, saying the US ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.

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Some supporters have argued that the limitation and other US constraints could cost Ukraine the war. The debate has become a source of disagreement among Ukraine’s NATO allies. Biden had remained opposed, determined to hold the line against any escalation that he felt could draw the US and other NATO members into direct conflict with nuclear-armed Russia.

(With inputs from agencies)