ATACMS: Why the US will let Ukraine attack Russia with its missiles

Ukraine has been pleading with the United States for months to allow it to use American-made weapons to strike military targets inside Russia outside the border zone. Now, as he nears the end of his presidency, Joe Biden has relented and decided to lift some restrictions, according to people familiar with the decision.

Under the new approach, Ukraine will use these weapons against targets in the Kursk region, a swath of Russian territory it seized over the summer and is struggling to hold on to in the face of attacks by Russian and North Korean forces. The U.S. reversal is in response to North Korea’s decision to send more than 10,000 troops to Kursk as part of a deepening alliance with Moscow, as well as intensified Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, people with knowledge of the matter said.