Moscow has issued a warning that Washington is escalating its involvement. LONDON — Russia views the White House’s approval for Ukraine to utilize U.S.-made long-range weapons within Russian territory as a “qualitatively new round of tensions” between Moscow and Washington, a spokesperson for the Kremlin stated on Monday.
“If Kyiv is permitted to launch strikes deep into Russia using U.S. long-range missiles, it will signify a significant escalation of tensions and a new level of involvement from Washington in the Ukraine conflict,” said Dmitry Peskov during his daily press briefing. President Joe Biden has authorized the deployment of ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, in the Russian Kursk region, according to two U.S. officials who spoke to ABC News on Sunday.
These missiles have a range of approximately 190 miles. As of Monday morning, Ukraine had not yet deployed these weapons against Russian forces inside Russia, according to a senior defense official. Officials in Kyiv, including President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have been advocating for months for permission to use such weapons within Russia. Ukraine has previously utilized the ATACMS to target Russian bases in occupied Ukraine.
However, the Biden administration had been reluctant to grant this authorization, even as Zelenskyy made the request during his official visit to the White House in September. On Monday, Peskov characterized this shift in policy as an “obvious” indication that the Biden administration intends to “continue to add fuel to the fire” in its final months.
He further stated that Moscow perceives this action as an attempt by the White House to “provoke further escalation of tension surrounding this conflict.” This report was contributed to by ABC News’ Joe Simonetti, Lauren Minore, Shannon K. Kingston, and Luis Martinez.
