Those who were worried about what the Biden administration might do between now and the handover of power on January 20 are probably vindicated. The Biden administration is reportedly prepared to dangerously escalate the war in Ukraine and the danger is first and foremost for Europe, which would do well to wake up.
The US administration of President Joe Biden is lifting restrictions that had prevented Ukraine from using US-supplied weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, three sources with knowledge of the matter said, in a major shift in US policy in the Ukraine-Russia war.
Ukraine plans to carry out its first long-range strikes in the coming days, the sources said, without disclosing details because of operational security concerns.
The White House declined to comment.
Washington's move, which comes just over two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, comes after months of requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow Ukraine's military to use US weapons to strike Russian military targets far from the border.
The policy change follows Russia's deployment of North Korean troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has raised alarm in Washington and Kiev.
The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 306 km, according to the sources.
While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes will change the overall course of the war, the decision could help Ukraine at a time when Russian forces are making gains and possibly put Kiev in a better negotiating position when and if ceasefire talks are held.
It is not clear whether Trump will reverse this Biden decision when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of U.S. economic and military aid to Ukraine and has pledged to end the war quickly, without explaining how.
However, some congressional Republicans urged Biden to relax the rules on how Ukraine can use US-supplied weapons.
Russia has warned that it would consider as a major escalation a move to relax the limits on the use of US weapons by Ukraine.
