PRESIDENT Joe Biden has authorised the use of American long-range missiles by Ukraine to strike inside Russia, insiders have said.
The decision comes as Vladimir Putin launched “one of the largest” air attacks of the Ukraine war so far with 120 missiles and 90 drones.
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The deadly overnight strikes by Russia on Saturday targeted “sleeping civilians” and energy infrastructure – with Poland scrambling its fighter jets.
President Volodymyr Zelensky blasted Putin’s assault as a massive combined strike on “all regions” of the war-torn country – causing multiple blackouts.
As winter approaches, Ukrainian authorities fear Vlad is aiming to wipe out key power networks to cripple the economy and break the spirits of the brave civilians.
Biden’s latest move also marks a major US policy shift as he is about to leave office and President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to limit American support for Ukraine and end the war as soon as possible.
The weapons are likely to be used in response to North Korea’s decision to send thousands of troops to Russia in support of Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, three sources familiar with the matter said.
The insiders were not authorised to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.
It marks a major escalation in the war and could now see Sir Keir Starmer also let Volodymyr Zelensky use UK Storm Shadow rockets to hit targets.
Vladimir Putin previously said any such decision would drag NATO into direct conflict with Russia.
President Zelensky has been pleading with allies to give him the thumbs up to use the Western-supplied weapons deep into Russian territory.
After months of impasse, President Biden was last night said to have given Ukraine his blessing with just two months left in the White House.
The first deep strikes are likely to be carried out using the US’ ATACMS rockets, which have a range of up to 190 miles.
Sir Keir yesterday took a thinly-veiled swipe at the German Chancellor for phoning Vladimir Putin after Russia unleashed its deadliest missile attack in months.
The PM declared he had no plans to talk to the Russian leader despite Olaf Scholz defending his call as necessary.
Speaking to reporters on his way to the G20 summit in Brazil, Sir Keir said: “It’s a matter for Chancellor Scholz who he speaks to.
“I have no plans to speak to Putin. We are coming up to the 1000th day of this conflict on Tuesday, that’s 1000 days of Russian aggression, and 1000 days of huge impact and sacrifice in relation to Ukrainian people.
“And recently we’ve seen the addition of North Korean troops working with the Russians, which does have serious implications.”
His remarks came as Ukraine was pounded by more than 210 missile and drones in a brutal overnight assault that left at least seven dead.
Sir Keir vowed to “shore up support” for Kyiv, making it his top priority at the summit.
The G20 in Rio comes as the planet’s richest nations are bracing for President-elect Donald Trump to shake up the global order – with fears he could force through a peace deal with Russia and scale back support.
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