WASHINGTON (NEXSTAR) – The U.S. has officially authorized Ukraine to use American-supplied missiles to strike inside Russian territory for the first time.
President Joe Biden held off on the move until now, worried it could draw the U.S. and other allies into direct conflict with Russia.
“I don’t have any policy updates to speak to today,” said U.S. State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller during Monday’s briefing.
Miller would not comment specifically on the authorization but did stress how thousands of North Korean troops have joined Russians in combat at the frontlines.
“That is a major escalation by Russia,” Miller said.
Some Republican members of Congress, including U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley, (R-Calif.), criticize what they call the Biden administration’s “complete 180.”
“We’ve now sent a lot of aid by this point, but it wasn’t always narrowly tailored toward military uses. There’s been very little accountability for where the money is going and there’s not been a clear strategy in terms of the outcome we’re trying to achieve here,” Kiley said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and many of his allies have been urging President Biden to do this for months. Zelenskyy said the authorization is even more important after Russia launched one of its largest drone and missile attacks this weekend, killing civilians and damaging vital electrical grids.
“Now, suddenly the impossible becomes possible,” said Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis. “I hope that other things that are currently not possible, such as security guarantees for Ukraine, that it also becomes possible rather sooner than later.”
However, a spokesperson for Russian President Vladimir Putin warned the move adds “fuel to the fire.”
The U.S. has been Ukraine’s most valuable ally in Russia’s war, providing more than $56 billion in security assistance. Miller said the Biden administration is committed to sending out the remaining aid Congress has already approved, about $6 billion, before leaving office.
