Biden allows Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike inside Russia. The US president signs off on deploying ATACMS rockets, raising expectations that Britain may be authorised for similar use of Storm Shadows - The Telegraph

Joe Biden has given approval for Ukraine to strike targets within Russia with US-supplied long-range missiles for the first time.

In a major policy shift just weeks before he stands down, the US president signed off on the use of ATACMS rockets within the Kursk region.

Mr Biden’s decision will raise expectations that he is also set to drop his opposition to the use of British-made Storm Shadow missiles within Russia.

Donald Trump, the incoming president, has vowed to scale back support for Ukraine and has said he will push Kyiv to sue for peace with Moscow.

David Sacks, a close ally of Elon Musk and major donor to the Trump campaign, criticised the decision as anti-democratic.

“President Trump won a clear mandate to end the war in Ukraine. So what does Biden do in his final two months in office? Massively escalate it,” he wrote on X.

US officials told The New York Times that Mr Biden had changed his mind after North Korea sent troops to support Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine.

The decision comes after Volodymyr Zelensky spent months urging Britain, the US and France to allow him to use long-range missiles on Russian soil.

British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer is known to be in favour of the use of Storm Shadow missiles, as is French President Emmanuel Macron, the French leader. But Mr Biden, who has a veto because the targeting system for the rockets is US-supplied, has until now resisted pressure to give his consent.

Ukraine captured several settlements in the border region of Kursk in a surprise offensive in August, which it is now defending against Russian counter-attacks.

American officials said that Mr Biden had been persuaded to authorise ATACMS strikes by the intervention of North Korean troops in the war. There have been reports Pyongyang could send up to 100,000 soldiers to support Russia’s invasion, which could tip the balance of the conflict.

US missiles would initially be used to defend Ukrainian positions in Kursk, the New York Times reported.

Mr Biden is said to have been swayed by warnings that Ukrainian forces there would be unable to hold out without extra aerial support.

Kyiv has pleaded for the use of long-range missiles so it can target Russian supply lines and command centres, as well as airbases used to launch jets firing glide bombs at its troops.

The White House has allowed Ukraine to fire US-supplied Himars rockets, which have a 50-mile range, over the border, but it has prevented the use of the 190-mile ATACMS missiles for fear of escalating the war.

Mr Biden’s decision comes just two months before Donald Trump is to take office. Mr Trump, who won a landslide victory in the US election, pledged during the campaign to secure an end to the war on his first day in office.

He has previously said Ukraine should have made concessions to Putin rather than fighting back against the invasion, launched in February 2022.

But he also called the Russian leader earlier this month and urged him not to escalate the conflict further, according to the Washington Post.

Ukraine hopes to swap the territory it holds inside Kursk in any peace deal with Russia. However, analysts close to the Kremlin have said that Putin will not begin negotiations until Ukrainian troops have been ousted from his lands.

Sir Keir will hope that Mr Biden’s decision could unlock the use of Storm Shadow missiles in Ukraine before Mr Trump enters the White House.

Downing Street was last night waiting for full details of the US decision.

James Cartlidge, the shadow defence secretary, told The Telegraph: “This is a very significant move by the US and one that I very much welcome.