The head of NATO’s military committee says that Ukraine has the solid legal and military right to strike deep inside Russia to gain combat advantage, reflecting the beliefs of a number of U.S. allies.

Dmitry Peskov, the spokesperson for Russian ruler Vladimir Putin, believes that the decision to authorise Ukraine to strike targets deep into Russian territory with US-supplied ATACMS missiles has been made.

Ukraine is pushing for permission from its Western partners to use the long-range missiles they have provided to strike targets deep inside Russia, as Ukrainian forces struggle to hold back Russian advances in eastern Ukraine.