Will Ukraine strike Russia with American weapons? What we know

Faced with growing pressure from Ukraine and its NATO allies, the United States partially reversed itself Thursday on its red line regarding kyiv's strikes on Russian soil using weapons supplied by West.

President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use some U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but with major reservations. kyiv can only use these weapons on Russian territory bordering northeastern Ukraine to defend its Kharkiv region, and the use of long-range missiles such as the ATACMS is prohibited on Russian soil. , American officials familiar with the matter told the media, including News week.

Calls have grown for Ukraine to be allowed to use donated weapons to attack targets in Russia, more than two years after Moscow launched the war in February 2022.

Many NATO countries, including France, Poland and the United Kingdom, have recently declared that they have no objection to the use of equipment they supplied to kyiv in the war in course, but that the United States had remained firm in its policy. that its weapons should only be used on Ukrainian territory.

“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S.-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv, so that Ukraine can retaliate against the forces Russians who are striking them or preparing to strike them,” a U.S. official said. News week.

The official was referring to an offensive launched by Moscow on May 10, which resulted in Russian forces seizing a number of villages on Ukraine's northeastern border as kyiv suffered a shortage of ammunition and personnel.

“Our policy regarding prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long-range strikes inside Russia has not changed,” the US official added.

The softening of Washington's stance will “significantly strengthen” Ukraine's ability to retaliate against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky's press secretary Sergiy Nykyforov told reporters on Friday.

Ukraine has received “positive signals from diplomatic channels regarding the limited use of weapons supplied by the United States” on Russian territory bordering northeastern Ukraine, Nykyforov said.

“This will significantly strengthen our ability to counter Russian attempts to massively cross the border,” he added.

John Herbst, a former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center, said Thursday he believes the White House has changed course on Ukrainian attacks inside Russia “in its now well-established manner.” known to be too cautious.

This includes excluding Kiev from using the 300-kilometer-range ATACMS that Washington first sent to Ukraine in March. It is unclear whether Ukraine will be allowed to use its 150-kilometer range ATACMS, Herbst added.

Washington's new policy “does the minimum to help Ukraine in a difficult situation in the northeast,” the former ambassador said.

“This half-step is certainly better than nothing,” he said, while adding that he believes it “does not send the necessary message of American resolve to the Kremlin.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that NATO countries, “especially those based in Europe, notably in smaller European countries, should be fully aware of what is at stake” by allowing the Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western weapons.

“They need to keep in mind that their countries are small and densely populated, which is a factor that needs to be taken into account before we start talking about attacks deep into Russian territory,” he said. “This constant escalation can have serious consequences.”

“This is another step towards a serious conflict in Europe, towards a global conflict,” added the Russian leader.

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