The US move, coming just over two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on January 20, follows months of requests from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky to allow the Ukrainian military to use US weapons to attack Russian military targets far from their borders.

The change came after Russia deployed North Korean ground troops to complement its own forces, raising alarm in Washington and Kyiv.

The first deep attacks will likely be carried out with ATACMS missiles, According to sources, the flight range is up to 306 km.

While some U.S. officials have expressed skepticism that allowing long-range strikes would change the overall trajectory of the war, the decision could help Ukraine as Russian troops advance and may put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when if there is a ceasefire. negotiations are taking place.

It’s not clear if Trump will reverse this decision Biden when he takes office. Trump has long criticized the scale of US financial and military assistance to Ukraine and promised to quickly end the war, without explaining how.

However, some Republican members of Congress have called Biden relax the rules for Ukraine’s use of weapons provided by the United States.

Russia has warned it will consider a major escalation to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American weapons.

Fountain: Mike Stone and Humeira Pamuk / Reuters.