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Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-made long-range missiles is an “escalation” of the conflict, Moscow said on Monday as it warned use of the weapons would trigger a “tangible” response.
The Kremlin reacted with fury after the US president eased limits on what targets Kyiv can strike using the American-made Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS.
“It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to … continue pouring oil on the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said.
Mr Biden’s move – previously ruled out over fears of bringing about a direct confrontation between Russia and Nato – put fresh pressure on Britain to follow suit with UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.
Keir Starmer sidestepped questions on the issue last night, but did not rule out a change, saying: “We need to double down … to make sure Ukraine has what is necessary for as long as necessary, because we cannot allow Putin to win this war.”
Defence minister Maria Eagle also hinted at a shift over weapons, telling MPs: “We intend to align with our allies in making sure that Ukraine can make use of the capabilities that’s been offered by those who have committed support to that country in its fight.”
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky has been lobbying Western allies for months for permission to strike targets in Russian territory, arguing he is effectively being forced to fight with his hands tied because he cannot hit the bases Mr Putin is using to launch air attacks against his country.
Any impact might be more political than military, as Russian strikes are already being launched from beyond the 186-mile range of the ATACMS, or the Storm Shadow and its French equivalent, Scalp.
Washington’s change of stance comes as Kyiv and Western allies brace for a possible shift in direction under Donald Trump, who has said he could end the war “in a day” after being sworn in next January.
Allies of the president-elect condemned the decision. Richard Grenell, Mr Trump’s former director of national intelligence, accused Mr Biden of “escalating the wars before he leaves office” and said that allowing Ukraine to fire long-range missiles at Russia amounted to “launching a whole new war”.
It was a view shared in Moscow, where Russian government newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta accused Mr Biden of “one of the most provocative, uncalculated decisions of his administration… risking catastrophic consequences”.
Hungary’s foreign minister Peter Szijjarto said it was “incredibly dangerous”.
Mr Biden’s decision also follows North Korea’s entry into the conflict, with thousands of its troops being sent to bolster Russian front lines.
Matthew Savill, military sciences director at defence think tank the Royal United Services Institute (Rusi), said: “Many of the best targets – helicopters and glide bomb-armed aircraft attacking Ukrainian cities and troops in the north or in Kursk – have largely moved to air bases outside the range of ATACMS.
“This still leaves plenty of opportunities to strike military headquarters and ammunition or supply locations supporting Russian and North Korean troops, but this would be a reduced impact from when the Ukrainians first requested these weapons. The impact may be more political, albeit with a narrowing window of opportunity.”
In Ukraine on Monday, a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people, including two children, and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, including a child, Ukraine said.
Russia is slowly pushing Ukraine’s outnumbered army backward in the eastern Donetsk region. It has also conducted a devastating aerial campaign against civilian areas in Ukraine.
