On Thursday, Biden said that Ukraine reported permission to hit targets inside the Russian territory with US-provided ammunition. Nevertheless, such incidents are limited to the peripheral regions of Kharkiv. This decision comes after Russia was able to make major gains around the northeastern city near the Russia border as stated by two US officials.
“The president recently said to his team that they should guarantee that Ukraine is ready to use weapons that the US provided in the counterfire in Kharkiv,” an official pointed out. This shift is significant because it overturns a long held policy in the United States and comes at a time when the country is under increased pressure from friendly nations around the world. However, this permission is limited only to the Kharkiv region, which has caused certain changes and additional constraints. Ukraine has not sought permission to strike beyond this area, and the United States does not foresee expanding this area as well, the official stated.
Antony Blinken, the United States of America’s Secretary of State, confirmed the decision fearing the outcome after Ukraine recently requested it. “When aggression near Kharkiv has happened, Ukraine has requested permission to use weapons provided to defend against aggression, including Russian forces on the Russian side of the border,” Blinken said at a press briefing in Prague. This demand was made to Biden and he agreed to it.
When asked whether the US is prepared to let Ukraine go deeper into Russia B-link-en stated that the United States will “pivot and shift as required.” “We want to progress, but we want to do that efficiently,” he stressed.
Weeks prior to Russian troops’ movements, Kyiv sought Washington’s policy shift. This change enables Ukraine to aim at Russian troops, sharing, and supply points adjacent to the Kharkiv region bordering western Russia.
Despite this change, the US administration remains very stringent in its position not to allow Ukraine to employ its most potent weapon – the long-range ATACMS missiles that have the capability of striking a target up to 322 kilometers away. Ukraine is allowed to employ the provided by the US antiaircraft weapons against Russian airplanes in Ukrainian as well as in Russian skies. But they cannot attack Russian aircrafts which are on the ground within Russian territory.
Earlier this week, Blinken suggested the readiness to adjust the administration’s approach. He said that US assistance to Ukraine has always been sufficient and relevant taking into account the current state of affairs as well as Russian moves. “We have been constantly changing ourselves and modifying depending on the conditions of the war, and depending on Russia,” Blinken said during his trip to Moldova. “We will continue to do that.”
Leadership in Europe has also changed and adapted their stand. In a press briefing on Tuesday with Germany’s Olaf Scholz, French President Emmanuel Macron said that the French weapons delivered to Ukraine could focus on the Russian bases. “Ukrainian ground is being bombed from bases in Russia,” Macron said. “We should let Ukraine decentralize the military installations from which it is attacked.”
Scholz reiterated Macron’s remarks, saying that Ukraine could hold out if it met the requirements stipulated by the supplying countries and international law.
First of all, due to the potential of aggravating the war, the US prohibited Ukraine from shooting into Russia with the American supplies of weapons. These concerns persist, but the US altered its position when Ukraine highlighted the importance of the defense of Kharkiv. European partners started shifting their stances, and NATO officials started implicitly encouraging the US to permit such attacks.
Blinken was in Ukraine earlier this month and heard the Ukrainian side’s demand to strike Russian soil. In that journey, he affirmed that the US would guarantee that Ukraine could “prevent and fend off other invasions.
One European diplomat said that America was under pressure of the reason to shift its policy. However, trends for this policy change were already brewing in the background. Upon Blinken’s return to Washington, he supported the suggestion given to Biden by Jake Sullivan, Lloyd Austin, and C. Q. Brown, who is the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
These officials have been identified to have held a secure video conference on May 13, where they proposed to ease the US restrictions to enable Ukrainian forces to target areas from where Russia was launching attacks on Kharkiv. Finalization was done together with General Christopher Cavoli, who is the commander of the United States European Command.
This decision was implemented only on Thursday. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg had also been pressuring the US and other nations to deliver to Ukraine the capabilities to strike inside Russia. Even if Stoltenberg’s activities did not lead to a change of policy, he went on record stating the need to allow Ukraine to defend itself without any restrictions. “It is difficult to explain why they cannot use these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory,” Stoltenberg said last week.