U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer met on Friday in Washington to consider allowing Ukrainian use of the American ATACMS missile system on targets within Russia. 

In response to this, Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that a decision to allow the use of the ATACMS system would be escalatory, as the ATACMS system relies on American satellites for its GPS guidance and targeting. “If this decision is made, it will mean nothing less than the direct participation of NATO countries, the United States, the European countries, in the war in Ukraine,” Putin announced, adding, “This changes the very nature of the conflict.”

In his remarks, Putin pinpointed the use of American satellites and targeting data as the reason why such a decision would be escalatory:

The key point is that only servicemen of NATO countries can input flight missions into these missile systems. Ukrainian servicemen cannot do this. Therefore this is not about permitting or not permitting the Ukrainian regime to strike Russia with these weapons. This is about whether or not NATO countries take the decision to directly participate in the military conflict.

While Ukraine has used the ATACMS system in the ongoing conflict, its use has been limited by Washington to within the pre-2014 borders of Ukraine. Biden and Starmer's decision is expected shortly.