PRESIDENT Joe Biden has authorised the use of American long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike deep inside Russia, insiders have said.
The decision comes after Vladimir Putin launched “one of the largest” air attacks of the Ukraine war so far with 120 missiles and 90 drones.
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Deadly overnight strikes by Russia on Saturday targeted “sleeping civilians” and energy infrastructure – with Poland scrambling its fighter jets.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted Putin’s assault as a massive combined strike on “all regions” of the war-torn country – causing multiple blackouts.
As winter approaches, Ukrainian authorities fear Vlad is aiming to wipe out key power networks to cripple the economy and break the spirits of the brave civilians.
Biden’s latest move now marks a major US policy shift as he is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
The US weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The insiders were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.
America’s ban lift marks a major escalation in the war and could now see Sir Keir Starmer also let Volodymyr Zelensky use UK Storm Shadow rockets to hit targets.
Vladimir Putin previously warned any such decision would drag NATO into direct conflict with Russia.
President Zelensky has been pleading with allies to give him the thumbs up to use the Western-supplied weapons deep into Russian territory.
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After months of impasse, President Biden was last night said to have given Ukraine his blessing with just two months left in the White House.
The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using the US’ ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles.
Sir Keir yesterday took a thinly-veiled swipe at the German Chancellor for phoning Vladimir Putin after Russia unleashed its deadliest missile attack in months.
The PM declared he had no plans to talk to the Russian leader despite Olaf Scholz defending his call as necessary.
Earlier this week, the German Chancellor spoke to Putin on what was the Russian leader’s first publicly announced conversation with the sitting head of a major western power in nearly two years.
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But speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to.
“I have no plans to speak to Putin. We are coming up to the 1000th day of this conflict on Tuesday, that’s 1000 days of Russian aggression, and 1000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to Ukrainian people.
“And recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with the Russians, which does have serious implications.”
The Prime Minister pledged that Ukraine was “top” of his agenda at this week’s G20 summit of world leaders and told reporters that “there’s got to be full support as long as it takes”.
Sir Keir continued: “I think on one hand it shows the desperation of Russia, bit it’s got serious implications for European security […] and for Indo-Pacific security and that’s why I think we need to double down on shoring up our support for Ukraine and that’s top of my agenda for the G20.
“There’s got to be full support as long as it takes and that certainly is top of my agenda, shoring up that further support for Ukraine.”
His remarks came as Ukraine was pounded by more than 210 missile and drones in a brutal overnight assault that left at least seven dead.
Sir Keir vowed to “shore up support” for Kyiv, making it his top priority at the summit.
The G20 in Rio comes as the planet’s richest nations are bracing for President-elect Donald Trump to shake up the global order – with fears he could force through a peace deal with Russia and scale back support.
Just days ago, a possible Trump plan to end the war emerged following a call with Ukrainian President Zelensky after his victory.
Trump’s plan involves a demilitarised zone across the front line and a promise from Kyiv not to join NATO for 20 years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
In exchange, the US would continue to arm Ukraine to the teeth to prevent Putin from invading again.
But the US would not send troops to enforce the buffer zone nor finance the mission.
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