Ukraine gets green light to use US long-range missiles: What’s next?

United States President Joe Biden has reportedly lifted restrictions on Kyiv on the use of long-range missiles, which means Ukrainian forces may fire American-made missiles inside Russian territory for the first time.

The move, which comes weeks before Biden leaves office and hours after massive Russian missile and drone attacks, has angered the Kremlin, which accused Washington of “throwing oil on the fire”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said the decision would mean Washington’s direct involvement in the conflict, echoing a similar sentiment expressed by President Vladimir Putin in September.

The White House and President-elect Donald Trump have not commented yet, but Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr, said: “The military industrial complex seems to want to make sure they get World War III going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”

The elder Trump, who takes office on January 20, repeatedly pledged during his campaign to negotiate an end to the Ukraine war.

Why did the US allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles in Russia?

The US decision was made after the deployment of North Korean troops in Russia’s Kursk region, which was invaded by Ukrainian forces in August.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been pressing his Western allies, including the US and the United Kingdom, for months to allow missiles to be used against Russia as Moscow’s forces have been making slow but steady gains in eastern Ukraine.

Al Jazeera’s diplomatic correspondent James Bays said the “aim of these Western nations is to support Ukraine, particularly in the area of Russia that Ukraine has occupied, Kursk”.

As many as 12,000 North Korean soldiers have been sent to Russia, according to the US, Ukraine and South Korea officials. They have also accused Pyongyang of supplying weapons to Moscow.

While the US secretly sent the missiles to Ukraine in March, Ukraine had not been allowed to use them to strike inside Russian territory. As of late April, Ukraine had used these missiles twice in Russia-annexed Crimea.

Biden made the decision with only nine weeks left in his presidency. His successor has promised he will negotiate a swift end to the war, which has raised uncertainty about whether the US, Ukraine’s biggest arms provider, will continue to send it military support.

There were recent indications that the US would allow Ukraine to use the missiles. In September, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and his UK counterpart, Foreign Secretary David Lammy, visited Kyiv and met with Zelenskyy. When thanking the officials for visiting him, Zelenskyy posted on his X account: “It is important that Ukrainian arguments are heard. This includes the long-range weapons.”