The ISW declared the need for a broader authorization for strikes by Ukraine against the Russian Federation with Western weapons

The partial lifting of restrictions on Ukraine’s use of Western long-range weapons against military facilities in Russia’s Kursk region will not completely deprive Russian forces of safe locations on Russian territory, while hundreds of military facilities remain within ATACMS range in other border regions of Russia. writes the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

“ISW continues to believe that Russian forces will gain… if Western powers continue to impose restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to defend itself, and that the US should allow Ukraine to strike all legitimate military targets in Russia’s operational and deep rear within range of its provided weapons – not only in the Kursk region,” the analysts emphasized.

The day before, American publications, in particular The New York Times and the Washington Post, reported that US President Joe Biden allowed Ukrainian forces to use US-provided ATACMS for strikes against the Russian Federation.

The publication’s unnamed sources said Ukrainian forces are expected to strike Russian and North Korean forces in Russia’s Kursk region first, and that the Biden administration may expand that authorization to use ATACMS against targets elsewhere in Russia in the future.

U.S. officials quoted by the media said the U.S. authorized these limited Ukrainian strikes in response to the deployment of North Korean forces on the battlefield in Kursk Oblast to deter North Korea from deploying additional forces to Russia. US officials said the partial lifting of restrictions was intended to have a “specific and limited” effect on the battlefield and would not change the course of the war.

The French publication Le Figaro reported on November 17 that France and Great Britain, following the United States, allowed the Ukrainian armed forces to use SCALP/Storm Shadow missiles for strikes on Russian territory. Le Figaro does not report whether France and Great Britain allowed Ukraine to use SCALP/Storm Shadow only in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.

There is still no official confirmation of this information from Washington, Paris and London.

The President of Ukraine, responding to such reports, noted that “such things are not announced” and “the rockets will speak for themselves.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin previously stated that strikes with long-range weapons on Russian territory would mean the participation of NATO countries in the conflict with the Russian Federation.

Read also – Rutte: strikes deep into Russia are legal, but decisions on the use of Western weapons are up to individual NATO members