Macron hails ‘good’ US decision on Ukraine missiles

This handout photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense taken on December 14, 2021 shows the US Army conducting live fire tests of the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. FILE PHOTO/Agence France-Presse

RIO DE JANEIRO — French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday hailed the United States’ decision allowing Ukraine to fire US-supplied long-range missiles into Russia as it fights Moscow’s invasion.

“It was a decision that was a totally good one,” Macron said in Brazil, on the sidelines of a G20 summit also attended by US President Joe Biden, who made the policy change.

“I understand it was also triggered by a grave change in the conflict which shouldn’t be underestimated, which is the entry of North Korean troops alongside Russia on what is European soil,” he told journalists.

READ: Biden authorizes Ukraine’s use of US-supplied long-range missiles

Macron added that Russia was “the only power making an escalation in this conflict today” with the North Korean mobilization. “So it’s really a sudden change in this war that led to the Americans’ decision.”

While Biden himself has not spoken publicly on the move, a US official has confirmed that Washington was now to allow Kyiv to use American-supplied long-range missiles for strikes inside Russian territory.

The shift puts the focus on other allies supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles — notably the British-French Storm Shadow missile.

READ: Biden, Starmer discuss Ukraine missiles as Russia tensions mount

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Monday ruled out, once again, his country’s sophisticated Taurus missiles being sent to Ukraine for use.