Biden Allows Ukraine to Hit Russian Targets with US Arms

Several US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told multiple media outlets on Thursday that Kyiv would be allowed to use the weapons on the border of the Kharkiv region which came under renewed Russian attack earlier this month.

The decision marks a policy shift by Biden who had refused to let Kyiv use US weapons beyond Ukraine’s borders, and comes as France and other European countries indicated Ukraine would be allowed to use their weapons on military targets inside Russia.

Kyiv will be authorized to strike military targets on the border with the Kharkiv region, where Russia has overrun a number of villages since May 10, forcing the evacuation of thousands of residents, Al Jazeera reported.

“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them,” a US official told the Reuters, AFP and The Associated Press news agencies.

Amid the debate, Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday warned of “serious consequences”, stressing his country’s nuclear strength, if Ukraine’s Western allies loosened their policy.

Russia’s RIA agency cited Andrei Kartapolov, the head of the Russian lower house’s defense committee, as saying on Friday that Moscow will retaliate asymmetrically to Ukrainian attacks on its territory using weapons provided by the United States.

Kartapolov said Biden’s decision to allow limited missile strikes inside Russia with US weapons would not impact Russia’s military operation in Ukraine.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has been urging Kyiv’s allies to allow it to use their longer-range weaponry to hit targets on Russian soil amid a surge in attacks this month, particularly on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, some 30 kilometers from the border with Russia.