MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. The leaders of the US, France, and the United Kingdom have decided to launch missile strikes inside Russia from Ukraine, according to multiple sources. Global media and experts believe that the move will increase the stakes in the conflict without improving Kiev’s position.

The New York Times reported earlier, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-made ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. Sources told Le Figaro newspaper that Paris and London, in turn, had approved the use of SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles for such attacks. Neither the White House, nor Paris, nor London have formally confirmed these reports.

TASS has gathered the main information on the international reaction to this latest escalation attempt.

Impact on the conflict

The US president’s decision on ATACMS strikes inside Russia will not have any major impact on the course of the conflict in Ukraine, the Wall Street Journal writes, citing officials from the US and other Western countries.

Biden’s decision will raise the stakes in the conflict but will not improve Kiev’s position due to its ongoing weapons shortages, CNN reports.

The Biden administration’s move is so risky that it could potentially lead to World War III, said US lawyer and Pittsburgh University Professor Daniel Kovalik, who has visited Donbass multiple times and addressed the UN.

The US president has opened the door to World War III by authorizing the use of US-made weapons for attacks inside Russia, Senator Mike Lee, Republican from Utah, noted.

Attempt to undermine Trump

Current US President Joe Biden’s green light for ATACMS attacks inside Russia is directed against President-elect Donald Trump, American billionaire David Sacks argued.

"President Trump won a clear mandate to end the war in Ukraine. So what does Biden do in his final two months in office? Massively escalate it. Is his goal to hand Trump the worst situation possible?" Sacks wrote on X social media platform.

Biden has framed President-elect Donald Trump by openly escalating the war in both domestic and foreign policy, Alexander Stepanov, senior researcher at the Russian Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Latin American Studies, said.

Biden’s decision will not change Donald Trump’s determination to end the conflict through negotiations, Williams College professor James McAllister, a political scientist, pointed out.

Donald Trump Jr. stated that the US defense industry was seeking to ensure it started World War III before his father took office as president.

Trump may reassess Biden’s decision, a member of the US president-elect’s transition team emphasized.

Reaction in Russia

Russian President Vladimir Putin has already clarified his position on US long-range missile attacks on targets inside Russia, Russian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented.

The use of US missiles for attacks inside Russian regions will inevitably lead to a serious escalation, said Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) Committee on International Affairs and leader of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia.

The Russian Armed Forces are aware of the Ukrainian army’s military supply routes, so long-range missiles will be a legitimate target for Russia, along with other weapons, Viktor Bondarev, first deputy chairman of the Federation Council (upper house of parliament) Defense and Security Committee, emphasized.