After months of refusal, President Joe Biden finally authorized Ukraine on Sunday, November 17, to carry out deep strikes in Russia with ballistic missiles supplied by the United States, as Kyiv had long demanded. This marks a major strategic U-turn just a few weeks before Donald Trump's return to the White House on January 20, 2025.

The American decision, made in reaction to the involvement of North Korean soldiers in the conflict, is considered both too late and too restrictive. More political than military, it could help slow the Russians' advance, without changing the balance of power on the ground.

On November 18, Moscow denounced the decision as "reckless" and "dangerous" and accused the Biden administration of adding "fuel to the fire." The chairman of the State Duma, Vyacheslav Volodin, threatened to use new weapons systems against Ukraine if it were to attack its territory with American long-range missiles. Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) are both accurate and powerful and can reach a target up to 300 kilometers away.

Russian President Vladimir Putin chose this moment to sign a decree officializing his announcement from the end of September, changing the country's doctrine to allow to use nuclear weapons in the event of a "massive launch" of air strikes against Russia, and in the event of an attack by a non-nuclear country backed by a nuclear-armed power, the Kremlin announced on Tuesday morning.

The American decision comes at a time when Russia is pushing its advantage on the front line, seizing territory in the east of the country at a speed not seen for two years. The Kremlin is also stepping up the pressure on the population in the rear, with a series of deadly strikes.

A thousand days after the start of the Russian invasion, Washington's announcement was greeted in Ukraine with a mixture of joy and bitterness. "Better late than never," reacted Ukrainian military expert Yevhen Dykyi, in an interview with Ukrainian media outlet NV. "But it's a thousand days later than it should have been." This army veteran believes that if the decision to lift the restrictions had been taken earlier, "it would have had a completely different effect."

Before Washington announced its decision, Russia had time to take precautions and moved some of its facilities and equipment further inside its territory, out of range of American missiles. However, "there are still warehouses and command posts [within strike range]," added Dykyi. "It's not possible to remove them all, or hide them all."

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