The U.S. decision to authorise long-range Ukrainian strikes could help Kyiv defend the foothold in Russia’s Kursk region that it seized as leverage in any war talks, but may come too late to change the course of the war, analysts said.

Two months before leaving office, President Joe Biden lifted some restrictions that have blocked Kyiv from using U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper into Russian territory, in a major policy change, Reuters reported on Sunday.

Military analysts said the impact on the battlefield, where Ukraine has been on the back foot for months, would depend on what limits remained. But while the shift may shore up the Kursk operation, it was unlikely to be a gamechanger overall.

“The decision comes late, and like other decisions in this vein, it may be too late to substantially change the course of the fighting,” said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in Washington.

    • BombOmOm@lemmy.world
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      1 month ago

      This day, day 999 of the war, Ukraine certainly hasn’t lost. Enabling strikes to cripple Russia’s war machine will certainly make sure Russia doesn’t win for the next many days too.

      In this war of attrition, all one has to do is not lose.

    • MrScottyTay@sh.itjust.works
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      1 month ago

      Pearl harbour wasn’t the start of ww2 by the way so for the comparison ww3 would have had to have already started with the Ukraine war being the reason why some more players get involved.