Kiev could use US weapons “to strike wherever Russia attacks across the border,” Washington says

Ukrainian troops could use U.S. weapons to attack targets in Russia wherever Russian forces launch cross-border attacks into Ukrainian territory, and not just near the border with Kharkiv Oblast, U.S. officials confirmed to Politico on June 20.

Officials denied that this was a significant change in policy from a statement by US President Joe Biden, who had given Ukraine permission to use American weapons in Russia “exclusively in the vicinity of Kharkiv.”

U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told PBS News on June 17 that Ukraine could strike anywhere “where Russian forces cross the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try to take more Ukrainian territory.”

Sullivan said that if Moscow were to launch an offensive against Sumy Oblast, Kyiv would have permission to use US weapons to strike inside Russia near the Sumy border.

Two U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Politico the announcement did not reflect a change of policy. Washington’s initial authorization to fire across the border was given in the context of Russia’s offensive against Kharkiv Oblast, but did not rule out responding to cross-border attacks in other regions, the officials said.

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Last month, Washington finally allowed Kyiv to use certain US-supplied weapons to launch attacks inside Russia, but only beyond the border of Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts.

The officials also stressed that the policy prohibiting Ukraine from carrying out long-range attacks on Russian territory using US weapons “has not changed.”

Sullivan said the U.S. position on the issue was “not a geographical issue.”

“It’s about common sense,” he said.

“If Russia is attacking Ukraine from its territory or is about to attack it, it only makes sense to allow Ukraine to strike back against the forces attacking it from across the border.”

Previous statements by US officials, including Biden, on the matter have stressed that the authorization applies only to Russian positions near Kharkiv Oblast.

Selenskyj on attacks within Russia: “It works, just as we expected”

President Volodymyr Zelensky praised the successful attacks on Russian territory with weapons from the West and said the ability to “hit the positions and launch pads of Russian terrorists near the border is really important.”