Joe Biden's government has given Ukraine permission to attack Russian territory, near the area of Kharkivusing weapons provided by the United States, the newspaper announced this Thursday Politicalciting US officials.
“The president recently ordered his team to ensure that Ukraine can use American weapons for counterattack purposes in Kharkiv, so that Ukraine can respond to Russian forces attacking them or preparing to attack them,” a US official told the aforementioned media. Communication.
Even so, said source stated, the policy of not allowing long-range attacks inside Russia “has not changed”.
If officially confirmed, with this decision The Biden administration would have given in to the request of Ukraine, which has been asking the United States for weeks to make this policy change, especially since the start of the Russian offensive against Kharkiv this month.
As pointed out PoliticalUkraine can now use weapons provided by the United States, such as rockets and rocket launchersto tear down russian missiles launched towards this area against troops that are concentrated just on the other side of the Russian border or against Russian bombers in Ukrainian territory.
However, the official said, Ukraine cannot use these weapons to attack civilian infrastructure or launch long-range missiles.such as the Army Tactical Missile System, to hit military targets in central Russia.
On Wednesday, the Secretary of stateAntony Blinken became the first US official to publicly hint that Biden might change course and allow such attacks, telling reporters that US policy towards Ukraine would evolve as necessary.
He White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirbydid not subsequently rule out a possible change, but it has not yet been officially confirmed.
Those messages came after the United States' main allies, such as the United Kingdom and Francesaid that Ukraine should have the right to attack inside Russia using Western weapons.
Russia accuses NATO of inciting a new escalation of tensions
Precisely today, Russia accused NATO of opening a new phase of tension in their stormy relations by encouraging Ukrainian attacks against targets in Russian territory with Western weapons, a position in which there is no unanimity in the allied bloc.
“In recent days and weeks NATO members, especially the United States and other European countries, have entered a new phase of escalating tensions. And they do it consciously,” he stated in his daily press conference. Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin spokesman.
USA and Germany have not yet officially authorized the use of their weapons in Ukrainian operations against Russia, although the NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenbergdid urge to give the green light to kyiv, a call that was seconded this week by France.
The President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, considers it “unfair” that his government cannot use Western weapons to respond to Russia, but the Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo, already told him this week that the F-16 fighter jets that will be delivered to kyiv cannot be used in the neighboring country.
