WASHINGTON, November 18. /TASS/. The US State Department neither confirmed nor denied reports that Washington authorized Ukraine to use ATACMS missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia.
"I'm not going to speak to or confirm any policy changes," Matthew Miller, a State Department spokesman told a news conference.
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 into 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.
Top EU diplomat Josep Borrell confirmed that the US lifted restrictions for US-supplied missiles to be used for strikes up to 300 kilometers inside Russia. The EU Foreign Affairs Council discussed the issue, he said. The council, which brings together foreign ministers from EU member countries, failed to adopt a union-wide decision that would remove restrictions on using Western weapons to strike inside Russian territory, so each nation will decide for itself, according to the diplomat.
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.