According to U.S. officials, there is a swift policy in the U.S. in response to North Korean involvement in the Russian-Ukrainian war.
The lifting of restrictions on Kyiv's use of the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to hit targets inside Russia represents a significant shift in U.S. policy and comes as 10,000 North Korean troops are sent to Kursk, a region of Russia along Ukraine's northern border, to assist Moscow's forces in retaking territory gained by Ukraine.
The action comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump returns to the White House, where he has said that he wishes to settle the conflict between Russia and Ukraine but has not provided details on how he will do so.
No official statement is made by the White House, Pentagon or the Ukrainian presidential office.
Until recently, the Biden administration was adamantly opposed to Ukraine shooting ATACMS into Russian territory, saying that the move could result in an escalation by the Kremlin that was out of proportion to the military benefits.
ATACMS is first produced by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV), and later Lockheed Martin through acquisitions. It is a supersonic-guided missile system capable of carrying either cluster munitions or conventional warheads, with a maximum range of approximately 310 km. For months, Ukraine has sought permission to launch the tactical missiles against Russian territory, claiming that the weapons would allow its constrained troops to strike far within the country and destroy sites that would weaken the Kremlin's war machine.
The landing of the North Koreans in October in the Kursk region, where Ukraine began a surprise operation in August, was viewed by the West as a significant escalation, prompting an aggressive effort within the Biden administration and with allies to respond.
The authorisation comes after months of opposition from the Biden administration to enabling Ukraine to use the ATACMS to bomb targets within Russia. Senior U.S. officials have regularly expressed private fear that Russia may retaliate by raising tensions within Ukraine and beyond the world. In denying Kyiv's request to be permitted to fire ATACMS within Russia, administration officials have publicly stated that the weapon's employment would be of limited utility on the battlefield.
The U.S. Army replaces ATACMS with Precision Strike Missile (PrSM) which were initially called Long-Range Precision Fires (LRPF).
HIMARS and MLRS M270 platforms are used to fire ATACMS missiles.
