'First Launches Would Come Soon,' Says Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy As US Approves Use Of Long-Range Missiles To Target Deepest Parts Of Russia

They've got a war to fight. They're not interested in starting new fronts in that war."

Dr Mendoza added

For a country that is defending itself, it is permitted to also deploy weapons on the territory of the aggressor. And that is Russia in this case,

he added

Today there were no decisions on this. Each country will do what it feels is appropriate. The American administration said ‘no’ for a long time, and now they are saying ‘yes’."

Quote from Borrell

Unlike [U.S. President Joe] Biden, Trump immediately announced his ultimate goal to stop the war. The question is — how is he going to do that?"

Zagorodnyuk said

Ukraine has been asking for this for years, not months,

Zagorodnyuk told VOA

Operationally, these missiles can target Russian storage facilities, command centers, and even North Korean troops preparing for offensive actions,

Voyger explained

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

Strikes are not made with words,

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his nightly address

If such a decision was really formulated and brought to the attention of the Kyiv regime, then, of course, this is a qualitatively new round of tension and a qualitatively new situation in terms of the involvement of the United States in this conflict,

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told Russian media

If a new administration pulls back on military aid or restricts Ukraine’s ability to strike, it could significantly weaken Ukraine’s position on the battlefield and at the negotiating table,

he said

Over time, Ukrainians have learned to live with initial refusals on the delivery or use of critical weapons, followed by hesitant ‘maybes’, and only after countless lives are lost, a reluctant ‘yes’. Unfortunately, this reactive approach is not what Ukraine needs to preserve its independence or endure potential negotiations,

Faraponov said

The Ukrainians need to convince the incoming US administration that they are still worth backing – in Trump’s transactional view, a ‘good investment’,

argued Matthew Savill, of the Royal United Services Institute thinktank

Russia’s strategy of escalating attacks, especially around holidays or weekends, is intended to break the spirit of Ukrainians and remind them of the hardships of war,

said Vladyslav Faraponov, the head of the board of Ukraine’s Institute of American Studies

Reading the tea leaves, unfortunately this looks like more incrementalism,

said George Barros, a Ukraine expert at the US Institute for the Study of War

The decision came far too late. Had it been made at the beginning of the fall, it might have disrupted Russia’s counteroffensive in the Kursk region. And if it had been made even earlier, it could have derailed the offensive in the Pokrovsk direction,

said Glib Voloskyi, an analyst at the CBA Initiatives Center, a think tank

Volodymyr Zelenskyypresident

Today, many in the media are talking about the fact that we have received permission to take appropriate actions. But blows are not inflicted with words. Such things are not announced. The rockets will speak for themselves,

said Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of the announcement

Michael Kofmanmilitary analyst

ATACMS missiles can hold at risk high value Russian and North Korean targets. This would help Ukrainian forces defend the Kursk salient, which is under pressure,

said Kofman

Michael Kofmanmilitary analyst

The decision comes late, and like other decisions in this vein, it may be too late to substantially change the course of the fighting,

said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington

This should have been used either as a preventative measure, or as a sharp reaction in February or March 2022. Now it does not play a big role,

said Olga Korovyachuk, 21.

Russia can shoot down Storm Shadow and ATACMS, so the salvo size that can be launched is also an important consideration,

Lee added

Ukraine has committed some of its best units there, so they may be able to hold for some time if they continue to receive enough ammunition and combat replacements,

he said