(NewsNation) — Retired U.S. Army Major Mike Lyons says Ukraine’s new ability to use missiles to strike deeper into Russia will only have “some impact.”
“It’s probably too late to have a significant impact,” Lyons said during an appearance on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports.” “It’ll allow Ukraine to attack fixed military targets that were out of range before. So Russia has moved some military targets that were close to the border out of the way of the artillery and other short-range fire capability that they had. But now, this will allow them to go after targets deeper inside of Russia.”
Lyons also questioned the timing of the decision, saying, “I’m not sure why we didn’t allow this two or three years ago. We’ve been managing this conflict instead of letting Ukraine try to win it.”
President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied missiles to strike deeper inside Russia, easing limitations on the longer-range weapons as Russia deploys thousands of North Korean troops to reinforce its attack, according to a U.S. official and three other people familiar with the matter.
The Kremlin warned Monday that Biden’s decision adds “fuel to the fire” of the war and would escalate international tensions even higher. Biden’s shift in policy added an uncertain, new factor to the conflict on the eve of the 1,000-day milestone since Russia began its full-scale invasion in 2022.
It also came as a Russian ballistic missile with cluster munitions struck a residential area of Sumy in northern Ukraine, killing 11 people and injuring 84 others. Another missile barrage sparked apartment fires in the southern port of Odesa, killing at least 10 people and injuring 43, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
