'Fuel to the fire': Russia condemns Biden U-turn on Ukraine's use of long range missiles
From the G20 summit in Brazil, ITV News' Political Editor Robert Peston has the latest on reports of Biden's decision - which marks a shift in earlier policy towards the war in Ukraine
President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukraine to strike inside Russia using American long-range missiles, according to US media reports.
The White House and Pentagon are yet to confirm the reports, but the decision would allow the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) inside Russian territory.
The move had been under consideration for months and American officials have been divided over the use of long-range missiles against Russia. 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 Ukraine, and the US delivered the missiles in April.
The Kremlin has condemned the move. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “It is obvious that the outgoing administration in Washington intends to take steps and they have been talking about this, to continue adding fuel to the fire and provoking further escalation of tensions around this conflict."
President elect Donald Trump is yet to react to the move, but his son Donald Trump Jr said it risked "world war three".
In a post on X, he said: "The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War Three going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives."
The Economist's Defence Editor, Shashank Joshi, explains the impact these weapons could have on the frontline in Ukraine
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been pressing Washington to allow the use of the weapons inside Russia, arguing he needed the capability to gain momentum in his war effort.
Zelenskyy responded to the reports on Sunday, and said "long-range capabilities" were part of his "victory plan".
He said: "Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words.
"Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will."
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West in September that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault supported by nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Biden's decision may lead to the UK government following suit and permitting the use of Storm Shadow missiles to strike inside Russian territory.
The long-range, high precision missiles were first supplied to Ukraine after former Prime Minister Rishi Sunak authorised the donation in May 2023.
The UK government has been reluctant to give Ukraine permission to use them to hit inside Russia without a shift in US policy, in part because the missiles use American navigation data.
No 10 are yet to respond to Biden's move, but Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said “we need to double down” on support for Ukraine and the issue was “top” of his agenda at this week’s G20 summit of world leaders in Brazil.
Asked whether the UK would follow the US in authorising use of its long-range missiles on sites in Russia, Foreign secretary, David Lammy repeated the government line that he did not want to be drawn on the question because it "risks operational security" and could "only play into the hands of (Vladimir) Putin".
Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha, who appeared alongside him, said the move "could be a game-changer".
Shadow Defence Secretary James Cartlidge encouraged the government to follow America's lead.
“We welcome this decisive move from the US,” he said.
“It must now surely lead to Starmer giving Ukraine full autonomy on use of UK Storm Shadow missiles.”
But Germany has refused to reverse a decision to provide Taurus long-range cruise missiles to Kyiv, a spokesperson for Chancellor Olaf Scholz said on Monday.
The decision by the US comes as Russia deployed nearly 50,000 troops to Kursk, the southern Russian region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer.
Thousands of North Korean troops have also been deployed as part of Russia's offensive, sparking concern that their entry could lead to a new phase in the war.
On the same day Biden authorised the use of long missiles, Russia launched a massive attack against Ukraine's energy grid on Sunday as the gruelling war entered its 1,000th day.
On November 17, 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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