Moscow warns Washington after Biden allowed Ukraine to use US missiles with longer range in Russia

WASHINGTON — Russia would view the White House’s permission for Ukraine to use Russian-made longer-range weapons as a “qualitative new round of tensions” between Moscow and Washington, a Kremlin spokesman said on Monday.

“Allowing Kiev to attack deep into Russia with American long-range missiles, if such permission is actually given, will mark a qualitatively new round of tensions and a level of Washington’s involvement in the conflict in Ukraine,” said Dmitry Peskov, a Kremlin spokesperson. during his daily briefing.

President Joe Biden authorized the use of the weapons, ATACMS, or Army Tactical Missile System, within Russia’s Kursk region, two U.S. officials told ABC News on Sunday. The missiles have a range of approximately 300 kilometers.

Ukraine had stopped using the weapons against Russian forces in Russia on Monday morning, a senior defense official said.

Officials in Kiev, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, had been calling for months for permission to use such weapons in Russia. Kiev has previously used the ATACMS to attack Russian bases in occupied Ukraine.

But the Biden administration had restrained itself even as Zelenskyy asked for permission when he traveled to the White House for an official visit in September.

Peskov on Monday portrayed the policy change as an “obvious” signal that the Biden administration plans to “continue adding fuel to the fire” in its final months.

He added that Moscow saw the measure as a way for the White House to “continue to provoke a further escalation of tension around this conflict.”