In a major policy shift, Biden authorized the use of US weapons against military installations in Russia. A State Department spokesperson insisted that the authorization was limited to what they called "counter-fire purposes" in Kharkov (also known as Kharkiv) region. The US has not authorized the use of long-range missiles, including ATACMS, inside Russia, the spokesperson told Sputnik.
"Will it lead to escalation? Hopefully not, but it clearly opens the door -- this, combined with Macron's push to send trainers, may move us from 'proxy' war to 'real' war," Carden said.
In only the last few days, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have issued twin warnings against enabling Ukraine to strike inside Russia.
"But, worryingly, our elites in the West have developed a bad habit of not listening," Carden observed. "Time will tell but this is a startling development indeed."
Attempts to strike Russia with US weapons are already being made, and it eloquently attests to the extent of the US involvement in the Ukraine conflict, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
President Putin warned NATO nations earlier this week that they should realize "what they are playing with" when they allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons to strike deep into Russia.