Biden secretly gave Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with US weapons

The Biden administration has quietly given Ukraine permission to strike 
inside Russia — solely near the area of Kharkiv — using U.S.-provided 
weapons, three U.S. officials and two other people familiar with the 
move said Thursday, a major reversal that will help Ukraine to better 
defend its second-largest city.

“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able 
to use U.S. weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can 
hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them,” one 
of the U.S. officials said, adding that the policy of not allowing 
long-range strikes inside Russia “has not changed.”

Ukraine asked the U.S. to make this policy change only after Russia’s 
offensive on Kharkiv began this month, the official added. All the 
people were granted anonymity to discuss internal decisions that haven’t 
been announced.

In the last few days, the U.S. made the decision to allow Ukraine 
“flexibility” to defend itself from attacks on the border near Kharkiv, 
the second U.S. official said.

In effect, Ukraine can now use American-provided weapons, such as 
rockets and rocket launchers, to shoot down launched Russian missiles 
heading toward Kharkiv, at troops massing just over the Russian border 
near the city, or Russian bombers launching bombs toward Ukrainian 
territory. But the official said Ukraine cannot use those weapons to hit 
civilian infrastructure or launch long-range missiles, such as the Army 
Tactical Missile System, to hit military targets deep inside Russia.

It’s a stunning shift the administration initially said would escalate 
the war by more directly involving the U.S. in the fight. But worsening 
conditions for Ukraine on the battlefield –– namely Russia’s advances 
and improved position in Kharkiv –– led the president to change his mind.

The National Security Council did not immediately respond to a request 
for comment.

The Biden administration hinted that a decision had either been secretly 
made or forthcoming in recent days. On Wednesday, Secretary of State 
Antony Blinken, who supports a restriction lift, became the first U.S. 
official to publicly hint that Biden may shift course and allow such 
strikes, telling reporters that U.S. policy toward Ukraine would evolve 
as needed. White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby 
later did not rule out a potential change.

Those messages came after top U.S. allies, such as the United Kingdom 
and France, said Ukraine should have the right to attack inside Russia 
using Western weapons. Lawmakers from both parties also supported the 
move publicly and privately, while top U.S. military officials briefed 
Congress behind closed doors that relaxing the restriction had “military 
value,” POLITICO first reported.

The Russian embassy in Washington did not respond to a request for comment.

Some officials are concerned that Ukraine, when it attacks inside Russia 
using its own drones, has hit military targets unrelated to Russia’s 
invasion. The U.S. has strongly delivered the message that Kyiv must use 
American weapons only to directly hit Russian military sites used for 
its invasion of Ukraine, but not civilian infrastructure.

Ukrainian officials, from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on down, have 
pushed for the Biden administration to change its policy ever since 
Russia launched a large assault on Kharkiv. For weeks they’ve said an 
inability to attack Russian troop positions over the border complicated 
Ukraine’s defense of Kharkiv and the country writ large.

In a discussion with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Wednesday, 
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov made a “hard push” to use U.S. 
weapons in Russia, according to a person with knowledge of the call.

Nahal Toosi contributed to this report.

https://www.politico.com/news/2024/05/30/biden-ukraine-weapons-strike-russia-00160731