Biden authorizes strikes deep into Russia with ATACMS missiles - media

This was reported by The New York Times and Reuters, citing their own sources.

According to U.S. officials, the weapons will likely be used initially against Russian and North Korean troops to protect Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region of Russia.

The NYT emphasizes that Biden's decision is a major change in US policy. 

“The choice has divided his advisers, and his change comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office, who has pledged to limit further support for Ukraine,” the report says.

The sources emphasized that the permission for Ukrainians to use long-range missiles, known as ATACMS, was a response to Russia's decision to engage North Korean troops in combat.

The officials said that while the Ukrainians would likely first use the missiles against Russian and North Korean troops, Biden may allow them to use the weapons elsewhere.

According to Reuters, Ukraine plans to launch its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without disclosing details due to operational security concerns.

At the same time, Russia has warned that it will take this step as a serious escalation.

Which countries allowed Ukraine to fire its weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation

On May 2, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine has the right to use British weapons to strike at Russian territory. In response, Russia threatened to strike at UK military facilities.

On May 26, Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson said that Ukraine could use weapons provided by Stockholm to hit targets in Russia.

On May 27, it became known that the North Atlantic Parliamentary Assembly called on the governments of all NATO member states to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian targets.

Later, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets in Russia.

Subsequently, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk said that his country supports Ukraine's right to use Western weapons to strike targets in Russia.

Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Estonia, the Czech Republic, and Finland also gave permission to use their weapons outside Ukraine.

On May 29, Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that the country had not set any conditions for the use of weapons in Kyiv.

May 30 Norway says Western countries should allow Ukraine to use their weapons on Russian territory to speed up Kyiv's victory.

On the same day, Danish Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen said that Ukraine would be able to use Danish F-16 fighters to strike at military targets in Russia.

On May 30, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said that his country “has no problems” with Kyiv using ammunition provided by Prague to strike at Russian territory.

On June 2, France says that since Ukraine has not initially received restrictions on the use of its Storm Shadow missiles, it can use them to strike Russian territory.

Dutch Defense Minister Keesa Ollongren said that Ukraine would be able to use F-16 fighter jets provided by her country to strike targets in Russia.