The consequences for the war in Ukraine could be major. According to various sources inside the Biden administration, the United States has decided to allow Kyiv to carry out strikes on Russian soil using Western weapons. The green light was given on condition that the Ukrainians limit their strikes to the border areas of the Kharkiv region in the north of the country, where Russian forces entered on May 10 and have since conquered more than 180 square kilometers.
"The president [Joe Biden] recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them," a US official told Agence France-Presse on Thursday, May 30, confirming an initial report from Politico. The White House's position on long-range strikes inside Russia, on the other hand, has not changed. These remain prohibited by Washington, say the same sources.
This change in the American position follows intense pressure from Ukraine and some of its allies, who believe that Moscow's new offensive has changed the situation. By attacking Ukraine from its national territory, and not from the territories it occupies in the oblasts of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, Russia is preventing Kyiv's forces from taking action, as the Ukrainians do not have the capacity to target troop concentrations or aircraft operating from within their enemy's borders.
"US policy has effectively created a vast sanctuary in which Russia has been able to amass its ground invasion force and from which it is launching glide bombs and other long-range strike systems in support of its renewed invasion," wrote the American think-tank Institute for the Study of War, in a note published on May 13. Following the May 10 attack on Kharkiv, the country's second-largest city, Ukrainians are particularly worried about a new build-up of Russian troops further north, in the Sumy region.
Intense debate within the US administration
This loosening of US policy comes after intense debate within the Biden administration. For several weeks, Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in favor of limited strikes on Russian soil, had been opposing the firm stance of National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, who believes the risk of escalation with Moscow is too great. During a visit to Kyiv on May 15, Blinken made his first overture, asserting that "ultimately Ukraine has to make decisions for itself about how it’s going to conduct this war." The statement was immediately denied by the Pentagon and the White House.
You have 41.98% of this article left to read. The rest is for subscribers only.