Biden allowed Ukraine to use long-range ATACMS missiles to strike the Kursk region. France and Great Britain followed suit

Update: France and the UK have also allowed Ukraine to use their long-range SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian territory, writes Le Figaro.

US President Joe Biden has given permission to Ukraine to use ATACMS long-range missiles at its disposal to protect Ukrainian Armed Forces units participating in the operation in the Kursk region of Russia, The New York Times writes, citing government sources.

It was decided to authorize the use of ATACMS, which the publication calls “a major change in US policy,” in response to the deployment of North Korean troops in the Kursk region, sources say.

According to the publication's interlocutors, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' permission to carry out ATACMS strikes on Russian territory should send a signal to North Korea that its military in the Kursk region is in a vulnerable position, and the DPRK should not send more troops to help Russia.

The New York Times sources do not expect that such a change in US policy regarding the use of ATACMS will radically change the course of the war.

Opinions of Biden's advisers regarding the use of ATACMS for attacks on Russian territory are divided, the publication's sources note. They also indicated that although for now we are talking about using missiles only to strike targets in the Kursk region, in the future Biden may allow Ukraine to use these weapons in other places.

Reuters sources confirmed that Biden has authorized the Ukrainian Armed Forces to use ATACMS for strikes on Russian territory. The Ukrainian military, according to the agency, intends to use these missiles in the coming days.

It is still unknown whether Donald Trump will reverse this decision of Biden when he assumes the presidency, the agency notes.

• Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has long sought Western allies to allow the use of long-range missiles they supplied to strike Russian territory.
• The United States provided Ukraine with ATACMS long-range missile systems, Great Britain - Storm Shadow missiles, France - similar SCALP missiles. The Ukrainian Armed Forces used these weapons to attack Russian targets in the annexed Crimea. It was reported that France and Great Britain are ready to give the Ukrainian Armed Forces the appropriate permission, but only after the United States agrees to the use of ATACMS for attacks on Russian territory.
• At the end of September, the NYT, citing American government sources, wrote that US intelligence believes that Russia could move to “decisive retaliatory action” if the United States and its allies allow Ukraine to launch attacks with American, British and French long-range missiles deep into Russian territory, while the course of the war will not fundamentally change.