The U.S. gave Ukraine permission to use American weapons to strike targets in Russia across the border from both Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, told the TSN news program on May 31.
Earlier in the day, Ukraine's president spokesperson Serhii Nykyforov confirmed to the Kyiv Independent that Washington had lifted the ban on strikes with U.S.-supplied weapons inside Russia near the border with Kharkiv Oblast.
Moscow launched a new offensive on May 10 in Kharkiv Oblast. While the Ukrainian military said it has managed to largely stabilize the situation, Russia has continued to launch attacks at the city of Kharkiv and surrounding area.
“The recommendations apply to the northern border in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, where Russian forces are firing on Ukraine,” Carpenter said.
“They (Russian troops) used to be able to fire relatively safely from there, but now Ukrainian forces can use our ammunition and weapons to be able to fire back.”
Washington still prohibits Ukraine from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-provided weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia, U.S. officials said.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted that Washington may allow Ukraine to hit targets beyond the current limitation in the future.
"Going forward, we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is, as necessary, adapt and adjust," he said at a press conference in Prague on May 31.
Moscow is forming another grouping of forces near Ukraine's northern border, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 26. The Ukrainian military did not rule out a similar Russian offensive in Sumy Oblast.
Over 10 European countries also supported this move, with some saying that they did not set any restrictions on Ukraine's strikes with their weapons on Russian territory.
Berlin, which had been long opposed to Kyiv using German weapons to strike at Russian soil, fearing escalation in the war, lifted the ban following the U.S. decision.
Francis Farrell
