President Joe Biden secretly gave Ukraine has allowed the use of US weapons inside RussiaThis was reported by two American officials on Thursday. The decision is a reversal that Kiev’s allies hope will help turn the tide of the war.
The decision applies only to the surrounding area North-eastern city of KharkovThe officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the aim is to ensure that Ukrainian forces can shoot down Russian troops as they attack or prepare to attack them. They added that long-range strikes would not be allowed inside Russia.
The decision was first reported by Politico.
Secretary of State Anthony Blinken on Wednesday appeared to leave room for a change in the matter.
“We did not encourage or allow strikes outside of Ukraine. Ukraine, as I said before, has to make its own decisions about the best way to defend itself effectively,” he said on Thursday during a trip to Europe that will include a NATO meeting. According to him, the “characteristic sign” of the US support to Ukraine is “accommodation”.
“As conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as Russia has,” he said, “we’ve adapted and adapted and I’m sure we’ll continue to do so.”
Russia launched a new offensive in Kharkiv region a few weeks ago. In the meantime, Kiev has warned that it may also mobilize troops for further intervention in neighboring Sumy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has issued increasingly dire warnings about his country being crippled, arguing that restrictions on the use of Western-supplied weapons give Moscow an unfair advantage.