Kiev wants the US to allow it to use long-range ATACMS missiles to support the cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Region, The Washington Post reported on Thursday, citing a senior official. The approval could reportedly allow Ukraine to take a stronger stance in talks with Russia.

Ukrainian forces launched the cross-border attack – the largest since the start of the conflict – in Kursk Region’s Sudzha district on Tuesday. The Russian military estimated that up to 1,000 Ukrainian troops and dozens of Western-supplied heavy tanks and armored personnel carriers took part in the attack.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has described the incursion as a “large-scale provocation,” adding that the Ukrainian military was conducting “indiscriminate strikes” on civilians, residential buildings and ambulances. The US, Kiev’s key backer, has insisted that Ukraine’s attack is not escalatory, and that the country is “taking action to protect themselves.”

While Ukrainian forces have reportedly made some gains in the district, which is home to a key gas metering station that Russia uses to transport energy to the EU, Moscow said Kiev’s advance had been halted and estimated Ukrainian losses at more than 400 troops and dozens of armored vehicles.

As fighting continues in the region, an aide to Vladimir Zelensky told the Washington Post on condition of anonymity that Ukrainian officials have requested US approval to conduct strikes using ATACMS – which have a range of up to 300km – to target Russian airfields. The paper noted that this decision “could allow Kiev to hold a portion of Kursk (Region) for some time.” 

“This will give them the leverage they need for negotiations with Russia — this is what it’s all about,” the adviser added, echoing an earlier statement made by Mikhail Podoliak, another senior Zelensky aide.

In late May, the US allowed Ukraine to use American-made weapons to hit targets deep inside Russia in response to Moscow’s advance in Ukraine’s Kharkov Region, which sought to protect civilians from Kiev’s recurring artillery strikes. Media reports suggested that the range of Ukrainian strikes was limited to about 100km, meaning that some high-priority targets such as airfields remained beyond Kiev’s reach. Ukraine has repeatedly asked the US to lift those restrictions.

Meanwhile, the Post noted that the Kursk incursion comes as Ukrainian officials “have expressed some sense of urgency” to improve their military position before the November presidential elections in the US, amid concerns that Republican candidate Donald Trump could win the vote. The latter has repeatedly vowed to end the Ukraine conflict within 24 hours if elected, while criticizing military aid to Kiev.

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