US won’t rule out Ukrainian strikes deeper inside Russia
The US could further ease restrictions it has placed on Ukraine's use of American-supplied weapons to strike Russia, depending on how the battlefield situation develops, White House national security spokesman John Kirby has stated.
Last week, Washington announced its decision to let Kiev use such weaponry outside what the US considers Ukrainian territory, but limited the strikes to a small part of Russia’s Belgorod Region, bordering Ukraine's Kharkov Region.
Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky praised the move, but also claimed it was not “sufficient.”
Speaking to the press on Monday, Kirby insisted that Washington’s “policy with respect to prohibiting the use of ATACMS, for instance, or long-range strikes, inside of Russia has not changed” – but noted that “we’ll see where things go and what the Ukrainians need.”
“And so we’ll have those talks, we’ll have those conversations with the Ukrainians. Absolutely, we will,” but it remains to be seen “whether it leads to any additional policy changes,” Kirby stated.
“We’re not going to turn our back on what Ukraine needs. And we’re going to continue to try to, again, evolve our support to them as the battlefield evolves as well,” he added.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov warned on Monday that the US is close to making a “fatal” miscalculation in its attempts to deal with the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
Officials in Washington “have given Kiev a permit for any crimes, any action, and do nothing to curb provocations by their clients… But the US does not get this for free and will feel consequences,” the official said.
President Vladimir Putin has also warned Kiev’s Western backers of the “serious consequences” of potential long-range strikes “considering the [countries’] parity in strategic weapons.”
US President Joe Biden had previously maintained that in order to avoid “World War III,” American arms sent to Ukraine could not target what the US considers to be Russian territory.
The latest policy change allows Kiev to attack exclusively military targets involved in the offensive against Kharkov Region, which borders Russia’s Belgorod Region. Moscow says it launched the operation outside the city of Kharkov last month in response to constant Ukrainian shelling and drone strikes on Belgorod.
