US approval for Ukraine long-range missile strikes into Russia is a slim lifeline for Kyiv

David HOWLEY

19 November 2024 at 12:26 pm·1-min read

Two months before leaving office, US President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions preventing Kyiv from using the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for strikes deep into Russian territory that could help defend its territorial gains in Russia's Kursk region. Ukraine on Tuesday launched the US-made missiles onto Russian soil for the first time. Here's what you need to know about the long-range ballistic missiles.

In a reversal of longstanding US policy, US President Joe Biden on Sunday authorised Ukraine to use US-provided ATACMS missiles against military targets inside Russia. Washington had previously feared that allowing Ukraine to strike further into Russian territory would escalate the war, embroiling the US and other Western powers deeper in the conflict and possibly even provoking a nuclear response from Moscow.

On Tuesday, those missiles were used for the first time to strike inside Russian territory. Russia’s Defense Ministry said Ukraine fired six US-made ATACMS missiles early Tuesday at a military facility in Russia's Bryansk region that borders Ukraine, adding that air defenses shot down five of them and damaged one more. Senior Ukrainian officials confirmed that ATACMS were used in the strike.

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