The State Duma explained Biden's decision to allow the AFU to strike deep into Russia

US President Joe Biden 's decision to allow the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to launch strikes deep inside Russia is a mistake. This opinion was voiced by the first deputy chairman of the State Duma's committee for international affairs, Aleksey Chepa, on Monday, November 18. He linked the lifting of the ban to the victory of Republican candidate Donald Trump in the past presidential election.

"He is thus trying to shift the attention of the whole world to the creation of a new problem in order to subsequently put in a difficult position and the Trump administration, which declared about some kind of his vision of solving this problem," - said Chepa in a conversation with Lenta.Ru.

According to the MP, these actions will lead not only to certain difficulties and losses for Ukraine, but will also create additional internal confrontations in the United States.

At the same time, earlier in the day, German Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock approved the White House decision to allow Kiev to use American long-range weapons for attacks, Der Spiegel writes.

"Now it is a question of Ukraine not having to wait for a Russian missile to fly over the border, but being able to destroy the missile along with launchers and bases even before the launch," Berbock said.

Range deadline: what could change U.S. authorization for strikes deep inside Russian Federation

How the current events will affect the course of the conflict in Ukraine and Russia's response to it

Earlier, on November 17, The New York Times reported that Biden had authorized Ukraine to use US long-range missiles to strike Russia, RT reported. Le Figaro newspaper wrote at the same time that the same decision was made by the French and British authorities, but then removed this information from the article, NSN reported. EU diplomacy chief Josep Borrel said afterwards that on November 18-19 the issue of lifting restrictions on strikes deep into Russia with European weapons will be discussed.

Commenting on these discussions, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov emphasized that Ukraine's possible permission to use US ATACMS missiles for strikes deep inside Russia would be a qualitatively new round of tension. He called Moscow's position clear for everyone and recalled Russian President Vladimir Putin's warning to the West in this regard.

Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Ukraine against the backdrop of Russia's special operation to protect Donbass, which began on February 24, 2022. The decision to carry it out was taken by the Russian president because of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to the increased shelling by Ukrainian troops.