President Duda: U.S. arms use decision for Ukraine may be decisive for war

Two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision revealed the significant reversal of Washington's policy in the Ukraine-Russia conflict on Sunday.

Ukraine plans to conduct its first long-range attacks in the coming days, the sources said, without revealing details due to operational security concerns.

The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to allow Ukraine's military to use U.S. weapons to hit Russian military targets far from its border.

The change comes largely in response to Russia's deployment of North Korean ground troops to supplement its own forces, a development that has caused alarm in Washington and Kyiv, a U.S. official and a source familiar with the decision said.

President Zelenskiy said in his evening address that the missiles would "speak for themselves."

"Today, many in the media are saying that we have received permission to take appropriate actions," he said. "But strikes are not made with words. Such things are not announced."

Poland's President Andrzej Duda said on Monday: "We are witnessing, especially in recent days, a significant intensification of Russian attacks on Ukraine, primarily missile attacks targeting civilian facilities, where people, ordinary residents of Ukraine—not soldiers—are being killed. This is a very drastic situation."

"U.S. President Joe Biden has approved the use of medium-range missiles provided by the Americans, with the possibility of using them to target sites in Russia. This is a very important change," he added.

He noted that following the U.S. decision, France and the United Kingdom also made similar decisions. "This situation is currently very dynamic. I welcomed President Joe Biden's decision and those of our allies with satisfaction."

"I believe Ukraine should have such means of defense to push back the Russian rear lines, so they are not so close to the front line, especially in a situation where the Russians are inviting their allies to participate in this war—there are currently North Korean soldiers on their side," Duda reminded.

"This decision was very necessary ... Russia sees that Ukraine enjoys strong support and that the West's position is unyielding and determined. It's a very important, potentially decisive moment in this war," Duda stressed.

He also criticised Germany for saying it would not align its policy with the U.S., and expressed disapproval at German Chancellor Olaf Scholz's phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin last Friday.

"Germany may be looking for opportunities, as the German press indicates, to reach some agreement with Russia in order to return to energy contracts and to be able to buy energy resources from Russia again," Duda said.

"Russia is brutally attacking Ukraine, and one of the leaders of the free world, one of the leaders of the West, a large European country, the strongest economy in Europe, is in talks with the aggressor. I absolutely believe that it was a mistake on the international political front."

Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk had also criticised Scholz, saying that "no-one will stop Putin with phone calls".

Germany is sticking with its decision not to provide long-range missiles to Ukraine, a German government spokesperson said on Monday.

"The chancellor's decision is unchanged," the spokesperson told a regular news conference in Berlin.

Germany is Ukraine's second-biggest donor of military aid after the U.S. but Scholz has balked at equipping Ukraine with German-made long-range Taurus missiles, fearing an escalation of the conflict with Russia.

"The decision from the American side, which I would like to emphasise is not a rethinking, but an intensification of what has already been provided by other partners, is so important at this moment," German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in Brussels ahead of a meeting of EU foreign ministers.

Germany's top diplomat also issued a warning to supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and said the European Union was preparing new sanctions against Iran as well as looking at the issue of Chinese drone support.