Russian lawmaker says Biden is risking WWIII with missile decision

Russian lawmaker Maria Butina said on Monday that the administration of President Joe Biden was risking World War III if it had allowed Ukraine to use U.S.-made weapons to strike deep into Russia.

"These guys, Biden's administration, is trying to escalate the situation to the maximum while they still have power and are still in office," Butina told Reuters.

"I have a great hope that (Donald) Trump will overcome this decision if this has been made because they are seriously risking the start of World War III which is not in anybody's interest."

Reuters, citing two U.S. officials and a source familiar with the decision, reported on Sunday that Biden's administration has made the decision to allow Ukraine to make the strikes with U.S. weapons deep into Russia.

The New York Times also reported that Biden's administration had made the decision. The Kremlin has yet to comment on the reports.

Direct involvement of NATO: Putin

President Vladimir Putin said in September that Western approval for such a step would mean "the direct involvement of NATO countries, the United States and European countries in the war in Ukraine" because NATO military infrastructure and personnel would have to be involved in the targeting and firing of the missiles.

In late October, Putin said that Russia's Defense Ministry was working on different ways to respond if the United States and its NATO allies help Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with long-range Western missiles.

"I guess there are some people in the United States who have nothing to lose for whatever reason or who are completely off the grid so much that they simply do not care," said Butina, who spent 15 months in U.S. prison for acting as an unregistered Russian agent and is now a lawmaker for the ruling United Russia party.

'Missiles to speak for themselves': Zelensky

The move comes two months before President-elect Donald Trump takes office on Jan. 20 and follows months of pleas by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky 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.

Zelensky 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."

The White House and U.S. State Department declined to comment.

There was no immediate response from the Kremlin, which has warned that it would see a move to loosen the limits on Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons as a major escalation.