A Russian lawmaker calls President Biden’s decision to let Ukraine fire U.S. missiles deep into Russia a „very big step toward the beginning“ of a third world war.
President to allow Ukraine to fire U.S.-made and supplied missiles deeper into Russia — a major policy shift announced over the weekend after months of intense lobbying by Kyiv — has drawn a furious response from Moscow. While there was no immediate reaction directly from the man who launched the nearly three-year war on his neighboring nation, lawmakers aligned with President Vladimir Putin in Russia said Monday that the move was unacceptable and warned it could lead to a third world war.Biden’s decision
Mr. Biden authorized Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use American-made missiles with a range of almost 200 miles, known as ATACMS, to strike deeper inside Russian territory than the Ukrainians have to date.
So far, Ukraine’s attacks beyond the immediate border region inside Russia have been limited to non-U.S. — and much less potent— weapons such as explosive drones. ATACMS are far more destructive and harder to shoot down as they head for their programmed targets.
Zelenskyy’s government had been pushing Washington for permission to use the missiles for long-range attacks for some time but the Biden administration had been reluctant given concerns about potentially escalating the war.
Over the weekend, however, the calculus apparently changed. The decision came almost 1,000 days into the full-scale war in Ukraine, and with Mr. Biden about two months away from handing over the White House keys to President-elect Trump, who’s seen as far less supportive of Ukraine’s ambitions of hanging onto all of its Russian-occupied territory.
It also came as Russia , highlighting Ukraine’s desperate desire for the ability to target Russian weapons systems deeper inside the country before they’re launched, which Zelenskyy has stressed for more than a year.hit Ukraine with a devastating missile attack
Many of the Russian rockets launched Sunday targeted energy infrastructure but a ballistic missile carrying cluster munitions also struck a residential part of the northern city of Sumy, killing 11 people, including two children, and leaving more than 80 others wounded.
