on 8 August 2024, Ukrainian officials have asked Washington to permit the use of long-range US ATACMS missiles to target airfields that Russia is using to retaliate against the ongoing incursion in the Kursk region.
An adviser to President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told the Washington Post that this request, if approved, could allow Kyiv to maintain its hold on a portion of Kursk Oblast for an extended period.
“This will give them the leverage they need for negotiations with Russia — this is what it’s all about,” the official stated.
The request comes amidst Ukraine’s ongoing offensive in Russia’s Kursk Oblast, which has been active since 6 August. Ukrainian military took control of up to several hundred square kilometers in the area of Sudzha, a Russian town located a few kilometers from Ukraine’s Sumy Oblast.
The Biden administration has not objected to the incursion, with Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh stating on 8 August that it conforms with a May policy change allowing Ukrainian commanders to pursue targets in Russia if Russian forces are preparing to launch attacks into Ukraine.
While the Biden administration has not yet responded to the ATACMS use request, it has previously allowed Ukraine to use donated weapons to preempt or intercept attacks originating from Russia in the border areas.
WP says analysts suggest that Ukraine may be seeking to gain leverage for future negotiations with Russia, while the offensive could be aimed at diverting Russian troops from other areas of the front, particularly the eastern Donetsk Oblast where Ukraine has been losing ground in recent months.
Related:
- Forbes: Ukraine’s elite air assault brigade joins ongoing incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast
- Ukraine’s surprise Kursk incursion: lifting spirits or stretching resources?
- Satellite images confirm strikes on Kursk aviation and artillery warehouses prior to incursion
- Kursk incursion: why is Ukraine taking the war to Russian soil?
- US says Ukraine didn’t notify about alleged Kursk incursion
- Ukrainian forces reportedly establish foothold in border villages of Russia’s Kursk Oblast
- Mixed forces allegedly breach into Russian Kursk Oblast from Ukrainian side