Washington's shift on missile strikes came about after North Korean troops arrived to support Russian forces on the battlefield. Ukraine took advantage of the ATACMS approval to strike a military base on Russian territory. The Biden administration has vowed to expedite weapons deliveries and other support for Ukraine ahead of Trump's inauguration on Jan 20. Russia had been warning the West for months that if Washington allowed Ukraine to fire US, British and French missiles deep into Russia, Moscow would consider North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (Nato) members to be directly involved in the war in Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin said in October that Moscow will respond to Ukraine's strikes with US-made weapons deep into Russia.
