WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. Deputy National Security Advisor to the US President Jon Finer gave no clear answer when pressed about whether Washington had authorized Ukraine to strike Russia with ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles.

The Washington Post and The New York Times reported that Jon Finer, responding to reporters' questions at the G20 Summit in Brazil, declined to publicly confirm whether such authorization had been given. "If there are circumstances that evolve and change, you know, we will evolve and change to meet them and to allow the Ukrainians to continue to defend their territory and their sovereignty," The New York Times quoted Finer as saying in response to the reporter's request to confirm that Washington had indeed authorized the strikes.

The New York Times reported on November 17, citing sources, that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes deep inside Russia. France’s Le Figaro reported that France and the UK had granted similar permission for the use of their SCALP and Storm Shadow missiles, respectively. The newspaper later removed this statement from its article on the website without explanation. French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot said that Paris had not changed its stance on strikes deep inside Russia. London has not yet provided any official comment. The German government confirmed that the United States had informed Berlin of the decision to authorize strikes deep inside Russia.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Moscow’s position on strikes by US missiles deep inside Russian territory was clearly outlined by Russian President Vladimir Putin in September. According to Peskov, this decision marks a "qualitatively new round" of tensions.