President Joe Biden has for the first time authorised Ukraine to use American long-range missiles for strikes inside Russia, according to US media reports.
The White House and Pentagon have not yet confirmed the reports.
The decision will allow the use of the Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia, which had been under consideration for months.
American officials have previously been divided over the use of long-range missiles against Russia. Some had concerns about escalating the war, while others worried about diminishing stockpiles of the weapons.
The US refused to provide ATACMS to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, partly because of readiness concerns as the powerful missiles require time and complex components to produce.
But Biden approved the transfer of the long-range ATACMS missiles in February for use inside Ukrainian territory, and the US delivered the missiles in April.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had been pressing Washington to allow the use of the weapons inside Russia, arguing he needed the capability to gain momentum in his war effort.
Zelenskyy responded to the reports on Sunday, saying that “missiles speak for themselves” and “such things are not announced”.
“The plan to strengthen Ukraine is the Victory Plan, which I presented to our partners. One of its key points is long-range capabilities for our army.
“Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions. But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will,” he said.
It comes as Russia deployed nearly 50,000 troops to Kursk, the southern Russian region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer preparing to take back territory.
Thousands of North Korean troops have also been deployed as part of the offensive, sparking concern that their entry could lead to a new phase in the war.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the West in September that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles, and that Moscow would consider any assault supported by nuclear power to be a joint attack.
Russia, on the same day Biden authorised the use of long missiles, launched a massive attack against Ukraine’s energy grid on Sunday as the gruelling war entered its 1,000th day.
On November 17, Zelenskyy said that Russia had launched 120 missiles and 90 drones in the most powerful attack in three months.
Four people have been confirmed to have died so far as a result of the attack with six people injured, including two children.
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