President Biden has given the OK to lift restrictions that will allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided long-range weapons to strike deep into Russian territory, a U.S. official confirmed to CBS News on Sunday. The move is a significant change to U.S. policy in the ongoing Ukraine-Russia conflict.
The easing of restrictions would allow Kyiv to use the Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia. The move also comes as some 10,000 North Korean troops were sent to Kursk near Ukraine’s northern border to help Russian forces retake territory.
The White House National Security Council declined to comment to CBS News.
The U.S. decision could help Ukraine at a moment when Russian forces appear to be making gains and could put Kyiv in a better negotiating position when and if peace talks happen.
It also comes as Mr. Biden is about to leave office and President-elect Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and ending the war as soon as possible.
In an interview with Ukrainian media outlet Suspilne on Friday, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Kyiv would like to end the war with Russia next year through “diplomatic means.”
He said he is certain that the war will end “sooner” than it otherwise would have once Mr. Trump becomes president.
“It is certain that the war will end sooner with the policies of the team that will now lead the White House. This is their approach, their promise to their citizens,” Zelenskyy said.
February 2025 would mark the third year of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine with Russia’s troops gaining ground in recent months.
For several months, Zelenskyy and many of his Western supporters have been requesting to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border, saying the U.S. ban had made it impossible for Ukraine to try to stop Russian attacks on its cities and electrical grids.
Some congressional Republicans have urged Mr. Biden to loosen the rules on how Ukraine can use U.S.-provided weapons.
News of Biden’s decision followed meetings over the last two days with the leaders of South Korea, Japan and China where North Korean troops were central to the talks, which took place on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Peru.
Biden did not mention the decision during a speech at a stop to the Amazon rainforest in Brazil on his way to the Group of 20 summit.
Asked about the decision, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a press conference that the body’s position is “to avoid a permanent deterioration of the war in Ukraine.”
“We want peace, we want fair peace,” Guterres said on Sunday ahead of the Group of 20 summit in Rio de Janeiro. He didn’t elaborate.
America is Ukraine’s most valuable ally in the war, providing more than $56.2 billion in security assistance since Russian forces invaded in February 2022.
Eleanor Watson
contributed to this report.