Biden's shift on missiles for Ukraine informed by North Korean troops in Kursk, Trump's election victory

FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden looks on during the G20 summit at the Museum of Modern Art in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, November 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes/File Photo

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Joe Biden dropped his opposition to Ukraine firing U.S. missiles at targets deep inside Russia in response to North Korea's entry to the war, a shift in U.S. policy that took on added urgency following Donald Trump's Nov. 5 election win, sources familiar with the matter said.

Biden for months resisted pleas from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy to ease limits on the use of U.S.-supplied ATACMs missiles, which can reach far into Russian territory, wary of potentially drawing NATO into a conflict with a nuclear-armed power.