US President Joe Biden has approved Ukraine's use of American-made long-range missiles to strike targets in Russia, US officials said on Monday. The move marks a major shift in Washington's policy, which for months has refused to accept Kiev's demands to use ATacMS missiles outside its borders.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov responded promptly, reiterating President Putin 's previous warnings, reaffirming that any attack on Russian soil with US weapons would be interpreted as direct NATO involvement. The spokesman then accused the United States of fanning the flames of the conflict. Also fanning the flames today was North Korean leader Kim Jong-un (who has already deployed his troops to the war front in support of Moscow), who without referring to Biden 's decision, nevertheless denounced Western involvement in Ukraine, warning of the potential for a "third world war".

The Army Tactical Missile System (ATacMS) according to Lockheed Martin is a conventional surface-to-surface artillery weapon system, capable of engaging targets well beyond the range of existing Army guns, rockets and other missiles. ATacMS missiles are launched from the Himars and M270 MLRS platforms.