WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden has for the first time authorized Ukraine’s use of U.S.-supplied long-range missiles to strike inside Russia, according to people familiar with the matter.
The decision is a major US policy shift and comes as Biden is set to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit US support to Ukraine and end the war as quickly as possible.
The weapons will likely be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia to support Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, one of the people said.
The people were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.