Biden lifts restriction on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided weapons inside Russian territory
President Joe Biden has agreed to lift restrictions that would allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to launch attacks deep into Russian territory, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. This move is a major change in current U.S. policy Ukraine-Russia conflict.
Easing restrictions will allow Kyiv to use Army Tactical Missile Systemor ATACMS, against targets in Russia. Meanwhile, about 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk, near Ukraine’s northern border, to help Russian forces retake territory.
The White House National Security Council declined to comment to CBS News.
The U.S. decision could help Ukraine at a time when Russian forces appear to be making progress and could put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when peace talks take place.
Meanwhile, Mr. Biden is leaving office and President-elect Trump has pledged Limit U.S. support for Ukraine and end the war as quickly as possible.
In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Friday, the president Vladimir Zelensky Say Kyiv is willing end war Cooperate with Russia through “diplomatic means” next year.
He said he was convinced the war would end “faster” once Trump became president.
“What is certain is that with the policies of the team now leading the White House, the war will end sooner. This is their approach, their commitment to the citizens,” Zelensky said.
February 2025 will mark the third year of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, with Russian forces making progress in recent months.
For months, Zelensky and many of his Western backers have been demanding the use of U.S. weapons against Russian military targets far from its borders, saying the U.S. ban leaves Ukraine unable to prevent Russian attacks on its cities and power grids.
Some congressional Republicans have urged Biden to relax rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-supplied weapons.
News of Biden’s decision follows Meetings over the past two days The talks with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru, with North Korean troops at the center of the talks.
Biden made no mention of the decision when speaking during a stop in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest on his way to the Group of 20 summit.
Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a news conference that the agency’s position was to “avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”
“We want peace, we want a fair peace,” Guterres said on Sunday ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. He did not elaborate.
The United States is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since the Russian military invasion in February 2022.
contributed to this report.
