(LibertySociety.com) – President Biden has granted Ukraine permission to deploy U.S.-supplied long-range missiles against targets inside Russian territory, marking a significant escalation in the ongoing conflict. Senior U.S. officials confirmed that the authorization includes strikes within the Kursk region of western Russia, where Russia has reportedly deployed 10,000 North Korean soldiers to bolster its forces.
The move, first reported by The New York Times, has heightened tensions as Russia’s President Vladimir Putin has previously warned that such actions would be viewed as acts of war by the United States. Putin has yet to issue a formal response to Biden’s decision.
This development coincides with Ukraine’s intensified reliance on Western support for advanced weaponry. Both the United Kingdom and France have recently authorized Ukraine to use SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles for similar strikes. The escalation follows one of Russia’s most extensive missile and drone assaults in recent months, targeting Ukraine’s energy infrastructure.
Putin has consistently argued that enabling Ukraine to use these weapons effectively pulls NATO and the United States deeper into the war. “It is not a question of allowing the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons or not,” Putin said in September. “It is a question of making a decision whether NATO countries directly participate in the military conflict or not.”
Amid these developments, President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has signaled a shift toward diplomacy. Trump, who campaigned on resolving the war swiftly, is reportedly preparing to appoint a peace envoy to mediate negotiations between Kyiv and Moscow. Early proposals under consideration include freezing the current frontlines, establishing an 800-mile demilitarized zone, and permitting Russia to retain the approximately 20% of Ukrainian territory it currently occupies. Another floated condition would see Ukraine agree to abstain from NATO membership for the next two decades.
Critics of the Trump team’s approach argue that such terms may embolden Russia and undermine Ukraine’s sovereignty. However, Trump’s advisers maintain that a negotiated settlement is crucial to ending the war and preventing further global instability.
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