First Thing: Biden lifts ban on Ukraine firing US weapons deeper into Russia

Ukraine will be permitted to fire US missiles in Kursk region. Plus, attorneys would be unable to stop Trump's potential Capitol rioters pardon

Don't already get First Thing in your inbox? Sign up here

Good morning.

Joe Biden has lifted the ban on Ukraine using long-range missiles to fire into Russian territory by permitting them to be used against Russian and North Korean forces in the Kursk region.

How did Russia react? So far, Vladimir Putin has not said anything. But Vladimir Dzhabarov, the first deputy head of the Russian upper house's international affairs committee, said: This is a very big step towards the start of world war three."

How could this change the war? Ukraine has recently been losing ground on the frontline, and the deployment of thousands of North Korean troops threatened to tilt the war further in Russia's favor. As Trump signals his desire to wind up the war with ceasefire negotiations - which critics say will mean, in effect, a Russian land grab - the use of long-range missiles gives Ukraine an opportunity to hang on to its territorial gains in Russia's Kursk region. It could become a key bargaining chip. But it's also likely to escalate the conflict.

What could be the impact of RFK Jr's nomination? Dr Michael Osterholm, the director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, said even if public policies remained unchanged, authorities from the federal government speaking out against vaccines discourages people who might otherwise be vaccinated, and at that point that's as bad as not having a vaccine at all".