U.S. officials said Friday that President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S. weapons to attack specific targets on Russian territory.
A senior American official talked Fox News described the authorization as a “limited” policy shift designed to give Ukraine the means to defend the city of Kharkiv from Russian long-range artillery fire.
“The President recently directed my team to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons for counter-battery purposes in the Kharkiv area to enable Ukraine to strike back against Russian forces currently attacking or preparing to attack. Our policy of prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long-range attacks within Russian territory remains unchanged.”
ATACMS stands for Army Tactical Missile System, a ballistic missile weapon with a range of approximately 185 miles officially deployed by the United States. Offering Ukraine deployed ATACMS in March, though some observers believe it deployed it much earlier and began requesting it shortly after the Russian invasion in February 2022.
The White House said the decision to provide ATACMS was finalized after it was discovered that Russia had “received and is using” North Korean long-range ballistic missiles.
The Ukrainian military is apparently making effective use of ATACMS. On Thursday night, the Ukrainian General Staff said: Said Russia was able to use American missiles to destroy a ferry that Russia was using to resupply its troops in the occupied Crimea. Russia deployed multiple air defense systems to protect the ferry, but those systems apparently could not stop the ATACMS missiles.
Another U.S. official Said The BBC reported that Ukraine was given limited permission to use the US-made weaponry, but was not allowed to use the more lethal ATACMS for “counter-attack purposes” – a move that could lead to Russian forces attacking or preparing to attack Ukraine.
Asked whether Ukraine had received permission to fire anti-aircraft weapons into Russian airspace, the official added: “We have never said that the Russian military should not shoot down any Russian aircraft that come into Russian airspace.”
Immediately after the US announcement, Germany Said The Kharkov Defense Forces received permission to use German long-range weapons against several targets on Russian territory.
The Russian military Hit with a hammer The city of Kharkiv, near Ukraine’s northeastern border, where Russian invading forces opened a new front in April, is just 12 miles from the border.
Russian bombs and missiles slammed into civilian facilities in Kharkiv, destroying homes, farms and markets, and leaving dozens dead and injured. Russian missiles Targeted A few hours after the White House announcement, an explosion occurred at an apartment building in Kharkiv on Friday, killing at least four people.
Rescue workers in construction vehicles work to clear rubble from a damaged residential area after Russian forces attacked Kharkiv, Ukraine, with S-300 missiles on May 31, 2024. (Kharkov Regional Military Command/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The decision to have Ukraine strike back with American long-range weapons appeared to come suddenly. As recently as Thursday afternoon, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said: Claimed “There is no change in our policy.”
“The security assistance we provide to Ukraine is for use inside Ukraine and does not encourage or enable attacks inside Russia,” Singh said just hours after the White House announced it would authorize Ukraine to attack targets inside Russia.
Ukrainian intelligence officer Said of The New York Times On Friday, Ukrainian artillery commanders equipped with American-made weapons said they were “pleased” to finally be able to use the weapons against Russian targets.
“Now we can finally attack,” said the satisfied artillery commander.
“Our understanding is that Ukraine had permission to carry out attacks approximately 24 miles into Russian territory,” the intelligence official said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the new rules of engagement a “step forward” to protect “our people living in villages across the border.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky (Berk Ozkan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Russia was infuriated that the United States and Germany had given Ukraine permission to attack targets across the border. The Kremlin said Ukraine had been firing foreign weapons at Russia even before the permission was formally given and that the new order threatened to escalate the conflict.
“Ukraine and its NATO allies will face a reaction so devastating that the allies will have no choice but to join the conflict.” I swore Dmitry Medvedev, Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council.
“Russia believes that all long-range weapons used by Ukraine are already directly controlled by NATO military personnel. This is not military assistance, but participation in a war against us, and such actions can become a casus belli,” he said. Said, Blackmail:
The current military conflict with the West is unfolding according to worst-case scenarios: NATO’s firepower is constantly increasing, and no one can deny the possibility of the conflict moving into the final stage.
Asked if he was referring to nuclear weapons, Medvedev said it would be a “fatal mistake” for the West to think that Russia would never use nuclear weapons.
“Unfortunately, this is not a threat or a bluff,” he said.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov Said On Friday, the U.S. and NATO “entered a new phase of escalating tensions, and this is deliberate.”
“They are trying in every possible way to provoke Ukraine and continue this pointless war,” Peskov said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday Warned There are fears of “serious consequences” if Western weapons are used against targets on Russian territory.
“If such a serious situation were to occur in Europe, how would the United States act, bearing in mind its equality in the field of strategic weapons? It is difficult to say whether they want a global conflict,” Putin said. Like Medvedev, Putin has spoken of nuclear war.
Putin said menacingly that European countries, which are “small in territory and densely populated,” should “realize what they are trying to do by provoking Russia.”
