US could still approve long-range strikes on Russia – Politico

The White House is still considering giving Kiev the green light despite skepticism in the Pentagon, the news outlet has reported

The administration of US President Joe Biden is still discussing allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range attacks into Russia, Politico has reported. 

Permission to strike deep into Russia is reportedly one of the points in Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky’s so-called “victory plan,” which he is currently promoting in the US. However, Biden said nothing about long-range attacks after his meeting with Zelensky at the White House on Thursday. 

In its article on Friday, the outlet claimed that two informed sources told it that the idea of allowing such strikes “remains under consideration” in the White House. 

The Biden administration has not completely rejected it even despite the Pentagon’s belief that such strikes would be unlikely to have any serious strategic impact, Politico stressed. 

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Zelensky has for months been pushing for permission to use US-made ATACMS, British Storm Shadows, and French SCALP missiles to target internationally recognized Russian territory. The UK and France have indicated that they are prepared to allow such attacks, but only if Washington does so first. 

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned that such a move would directly involve the US and its allies in the conflict, given that Kiev is unable to fire sophisticated weapons without Western assistance and targeting data. 

Putin said that Moscow might engage in an asymmetrical response, by arming groups or countries hostile to Washington – such as North Korea – with advanced weaponry. 

The sources also told Politico that Biden and his closest aides are “somewhat dubious” about Zelensky’s “victory plan.” They privately question his decision to launch an incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, which required the redeployment of Ukrainian troops from key areas on the front in Donbass, and express concern over Kiev’s long-term prospects in the conflict.  

READ MORE: Zelensky’s US visit a ‘Hollywood show’ – Moscow

Russia’s Defense Ministry announced on Friday that Ukraine had lost more than 17,750 troops and several hundred units of military equipment, including 131 tanks and 97 armored personnel carriers, since the start of its Kursk operation on August 6.