The Biden administration will allow Kyiv “limited” use of the ATACMS long-range missile system to strike enemy positions in Kursk, a significant reversal of U.S. policy.

The decision is a major change in U.S. policy and comes as Donald Trump, who has promised to limit further support for Ukraine, prepares to take office.

Trump has repeatedly criticised the scale of Western aid to Kyiv and has promised to end the conflict swiftly, without explaining how. His victory in the Nov. 5 presidential election has spurred concerns in Kyiv and other European capitals about the degree of future U.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia has deployed nearly 50,000 troops to Kursk, the southern Russian region where Kyiv launched its surprise counteroffensive in the summer.

The fight to control more than 500 sq km of land in western Russia became even more brutal in recent days as the Kremlin, ahead of possible negotiations with the incoming Trump administration to end the war,

North Korea has provided Russia with 50 domestically produced self-propelled howitzers and 20 multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS), the Financial Times (FT) reported on Nov. 16, citing a Ukrainian intelligence assessment.