Recently (18-19/11/24), although there was some reluctance on Biden’s administration to grant such permission and the White House refused during months fearing the decision would be escalatory, Joe Biden (with about two months left in office) gave the green-light to a limited supply of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) for Ukraine as an attempt to alter the course of war by hitting deeper inside Russia.
It is no secret that the US has been supporting Ukraine with the Russo-Ukrainian war going on for over 1,000 days (about 32 months), they have given: High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS launchers), Abrams tanks, F16s (unique fighter jets), Patriot air-defence batteries and Bradley armoured fighting vehicles. Not to mention US funds for domestically manufactured drones which have caused quite some chaos around Moscow’s airports. However, the US president’s permission for the ATACMS (missiles which travel up to the distance of 300 km) was a result of Russian advances in eastern Ukraine and the long-sought request from Kyiv (AKA Ukraine’s armed forces), even if the White House has stressed that it was actually the North Korean troops as Russian support in the Kursk region against Kyiv’s forces. The weapons were fired on Moscow on Tuesday (19/11), however the Kremlin (symbol of Russian power and authority located in Moscow) has already responded, they have warned the US that the decision adds “fuel to the fire”.
With the upcoming Donal Trump presidency, Biden’s recent decision has put the world at the edge of their seats, as he has mentioned that he (Trump) wants to bring about a swift end to the war. Despite the fact that Trump has criticised the amount of aid for Ukraine ($108 billion on military, humanitarian and economic aid) and has shown previous despise for Zelensky (Ukrainian president) in 2019, after an “excellent conversation” described by Zelensky having congratulated Trump on his victory in the elections, we are still not sure what is the plan from Trump’s administration to deal with the war. That is, especially after Putin not congratulating him immediately and the Kremlin speaking up: “Let’s not forget that we’re talking about an unfriendly country that is both directly and indirectly involved in a war against our state”. Let’s see how the ATACMS affect Russia and how Trump, even if indirectly, will deal with such outcomes.
