Blinken aide confirms US authorisation to strike deep into Russia

US Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs Brian Nichols has confirmed the authorisation by US President Joe Biden to Ukraine of the use of long-range weapons against Russia.

In an interview with a Brazilian newspaper, Nichols said this decision will give Ukraine “more opportunities to defend itself” and, as Washington believes, will push Russia towards negotiations, Caliber.Az reports.

According to the US diplomat, it is up to Russia to decide how long the conflict in Ukraine will last.

Notably, on November 18, US officials said that US President Joe Biden, who is set to leave his post in January amid Donald Trump’s election win, had given the green light for Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US to strike Russia. The move marks a major change in policy for Washington which had refused for months to agree to Kyiv's requests for authorisation to use the ATACMS missiles outside its own borders.

Washington’s decision on ATACMS is couched in terms of being limited to the defence of Ukrainian forces inside Russia's Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion in August.

ATACMS can reach up to 300km (186 miles). Unnamed US officials have told the New York Times and the Washington Post that Biden's approval of Ukraine's use of the ATACMS came in response to Russia's decision to allow North Korean soldiers to fight in Ukraine.

The US has been the greatest supplier of arms to Ukraine. Between the start of the war and the end of June 2024, it delivered or committed to send weapons and equipment worth $55.5 billion (£41.5 billion), according to the Kiel Institute for the World Economy, a German research organisation.

In response, the Kremlin warned that President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine strike targets inside Russia with US-supplied longer-range missiles adds “fuel to the fire” of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher.

By Khagan Isayev