Biden Approves Long-Range Missiles for Ukraine as Russia Launches Deadly Power Grid Attack

US President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use long-range American missiles against military targets inside Russia, a senior US official confirmed to AFP on Sunday.

This decision comes hours after Russia launched a major missile and drone assault on Ukraine’s power grid, killing 11 civilians and further crippling the nation’s already fragile energy infrastructure.

The policy shift, which Ukraine had long requested, follows reports of North Korean troops being deployed to support Russia’s war efforts, according to US officials.

The move marks a significant change in US support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities.

Ukraine’s power grid suffered devastating damage from the Russian attack, prompting the government to announce nationwide emergency power restrictions beginning Monday. The assault targeted cities including Kyiv, Mykolaiv, Lviv, Kherson, and Odesa. Russian forces launched over 120 missiles and nearly 100 drones in what officials described as one of the largest attacks of the war.

The attack received widespread international condemnation. UN Secretary-General António Guterres denounced Russia’s targeting of “energy and critical civilian infrastructure,” while European Union President Ursula von der Leyen called the attack “horrible” and reaffirmed EU support for Ukraine.

In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelensky described the strikes as a sign of Russia’s ongoing aggression, as the war nears its 1,000th day.

He warned that Ukraine faces the prospect of a third brutal winter, with half of the country’s energy capacity already destroyed by previous Russian strikes.

Meanwhile, political tensions are rising as Ukraine faces the uncertainty of future US support. With the possibility of Donald Trump’s return to the White House, many are concerned about the future of Washington’s backing for Kyiv.

The latest escalation follows a diplomatic initiative by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who spoke to Russian President Vladimir Putin for the first time in nearly two years.

However, the call was met with criticism from Ukraine, which called it an “attempt at appeasement.” Ukrainian officials argue that Putin’s actions are the true response to diplomatic overtures.

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk also criticized the approach, emphasizing that phone calls would not deter Putin. He urged for greater Western support for Ukraine, pointing to the scale of the latest attack as evidence of the need for stronger action.

Meanwhile, Ukrainian officials reported more civilian deaths across the country, including in the Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions. Among the casualties were two children in Mykolaiv, and several employees of the state railway company in Nikopol.

In the Lviv region, a 66-year-old woman was killed by a Russian missile while driving near the Polish border, prompting Poland to scramble fighter jets in response.

Russia, on the other hand, claimed that its strikes had targeted Ukrainian military infrastructure and energy facilities supporting Ukraine’s defense efforts. Moscow also reported casualties in its own border regions, with Ukrainian drones reportedly killing a man in Belgorod and a journalist in Kursk.

As the conflict escalates, both Ukraine and the West are grappling with the broader implications of Russia’s continued military actions and the role of external actors like North Korea in supporting Moscow’s war efforts. The situation remains dire as diplomatic efforts to end the conflict continue to falter.