US approving strikes inside Russia not to alter outcome of conflict — Polish minister

MOSCOW, November 18. /TASS/. US President Joe Biden’s decision to authorize Ukraine using ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia will not be a turning point in the conflict in Ukraine, Polish Defense Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
“I don’t think this will be a turning point,” the TVP Info television channel quoted him as telling reporters. It’s too little, too late, the minister believes, as this decision needed to be made much earlier to have any impact on the battlefield situation.
Polish President Andrzej Duda earlier hailed Biden’s decision as a pivotal moment in the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. “This could be a turning point in the war,” he told journalists before leaving for Jordan. He stressed that this decision is “purely defensive.”
The New York Times reported on Sunday that US President Joe Biden had authorized the use of US-supplied ATACMS tactical ballistic missiles for strikes inside Russia. So far, there has been no official confirmation of this report.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on September 12 that the potential decision to use Western long-range missiles against Russia would mean the United States’ and other NATO countries’ direct involvement in the conflict in Ukraine. This step will change the very nature of the conflict and Russia will have to make relevant decisions proceeding from the threats it will face, the president warned. At the same time, he noted that Ukraine is unable to strike inside Russia without the West’s assistance because this would require intelligence data from satellites and flight assignments.