THE SPECTRE OF DONALD TRUMP LOOMS OVER UKRAINE

LONDON C oincidence, or exquisite timing? On Tuesday, exactly 1000 days since Vladimir Putin ordered the illegal invasion of a neighbouring country, President Joe Biden finally gave Ukraine permission to use US-supplied longer range missiles for deeper strikes inside Russia.

- JOHN DOBSON

Biden's move came just weeks before Donald Trump takes office as the 47th President of the United States on 20 January next year, and is a significant escalation in the war.

Concerned about Russia's response, the Biden administration has repeatedly delayed providing Ukraine with advanced systems such as F16s and Patriot air defence systems, only to relent later under pressure.

Ukraine has long argued that not being allowed to use such weapons inside Russia was like being asked to fight with one hand tied behind its back. The decision on Tuesday to allow Kyiv to use Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs) for strikes further into Russia, came as Putin began to employ North Korean troops along Ukraine's border in the attempt to reclaim the more than 1000sq km of Russia's Kursk region seized by Ukraine in August. ATACMs are surface-to-surface ballistic missiles capable of hitting targets of up to 186 miles, a range that makes them particularly important for Ukraine. In addition to holding Kursk, they will allow Kyiv to reduce Russian attacks on its cities and electrical infrastructure, which are causing extensive damage and blackouts as the country freezes. Only last week, Russia launched a massive drone and missile attack across Ukraine, the largest in recent months, which destroyed numerous civilian high-rise buildings, killing dozens of people as well as cutting power grids.