The US has given Ukraine the green light to strike targets deep within Russian territory, but only using a limited number of weapons and only for the purpose of protecting Kharkov Region, a US official has told several media outlets.
A representative of the Biden Administration said in a statement that “the president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkov region.”
However, he also said that Washington has not changed its policy on prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long-range strikes inside of Russia.
Instead, according to the Wall Street Journal, Kiev will be limited to using the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS), the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) and artillery systems.
The outlet said the new policy is intended to allow Ukraine to better defend against Russia’s ongoing offensive in Kharkov Region, where Kiev’s troops have been rapidly losing ground over the past few weeks. At the same time, the geographical limitations on what Russian territories Ukraine can strike appear to be intended to prevent an escalation of the conflict that could lead to a direct clash between Russia and the US.
On Friday, Sergey Nikiforov, a spokesperson for Vladimir Zelensky, confirmed to the Guardian that the US had granted Kiev permission to use American weapons against targets in Russia that were previously off limits.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that over the past few months, Kiev has already conducted multiple strikes on Russian territory, particularly on Belgorod Region, thereby compelling Russia to launch a cross border operation in Kharkov Region to create a buffer zone.
The Russian leader has also warned Kiev’s Western backers that any long-range strikes using NATO weaponry would represent an escalation of the conflict and could lead to “serious consequences.”
“If these serious consequences occur in Europe, how will the US behave, bearing in mind our parity in the field of strategic weapons? Hard to say. Do they want global conflict?” Putin stated.