Russia’s former president reacts to U.S. approval of long-range strikes for Ukraine

He made this statement on Telegram, claiming that Western missile strikes deep into Russia could be seen as an attack by NATO.

"In this case, we would have the right to respond with weapons of mass destruction against Kyiv and key NATO targets, wherever they may be. And that would be World War III. Maybe old Biden really wants to go out in a big way, taking a large part of humanity with him," Medvedev said.

Background

On the evening of November 17, reports emerged that U.S. President Joe Biden had authorized Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range American-supplied missiles.

By November 18, it was revealed that this permission to launch deep strikes using ATACMS missiles was limited to targets in the Kursk region.

Polish President Andrzej Duda described the decision as a potential "turning point in the war."

Meanwhile, EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell clarified that the U.S. has allowed Ukraine to conduct strikes on Russian territory up to a range of 300 kilometers.

On November 19, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Brian Nichols, confirmed that President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use American weapons to strike Russian territory.