Joe Biden authorises Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles in Russia

Biden allows US long-range missiles to be used by Ukraine inside Russia for the first time, according to US media reports. Credit: AP

President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukraine to use US-supplied long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, according to US media reports.

The White House or Pentagon have not confirmed the reports.

It comes as Russia deployed nearly 50,000 troops to Kursk, the southern Russian region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer, to prepare to take back territory.

Thousands of North Korean troops have also been deployed as part of the offensive, sparking concern that their entry could lead to a new phase in the war.

The decision to allow use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia had been under consideration for months.

American officials have previously been divided. Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about diminishing stockpiles of the weapons.

The US refused to provide ATACMS to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, partly because of readiness concerns as the powerful missiles require time and complex components to produce.

But Biden approved the transfer of the long-range ATACMS missiles in February for use inside Ukrainian territory, and the US delivered the missiles in April.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been pressing Washington to allow use of the weapons inside Russia, arguing he needed the capability to gain momentum in his war effort.

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It comes as Russia launched massive attack against Ukraine's energy grid on Sunday as the gruelling war enters its 1,000th day.

On November 17, Ukrainian President Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched 120 missiles and 90 drones in the most powerful attack in three months.

Four people have been confirmed to have died so far as a result of the attack with six people injured, including two children.

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