In the past few hours, the Biden administration has reportedly given discreet authorization for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to begin using American weaponry to carry out attacks within Russian territory, in order to alleviate the besieged area of Kharkiv which is under heavy assault by Russian Ground Forces. This marks a significant shift from previous limitations on Ukrainian defense, which only allowed the use of military aid within its own territory.
The information is reported by the American outlet Politico, which quotes a U.S official as saying: “The president recently ordered his team to ensure that Ukraine can use U.S weapons for counterattacks in Kharkiv, so that Ukraine can respond to Russian forces attacking or preparing to attack them.”
This change in stance, which had been somewhat anticipated by the US government, is said to respond to Ukraine’s request for greater flexibility in the use of U.S-supplied armaments to defend against a new Russian offensive that is making significant progress. In line with this, the green light given by the White House will allow Ukraine to shoot down Russian missiles and bombers within enemy territory, while also permitting attacks on troops near the border with the city. It should be clarified that this would entail an expansion of the maneuver and action capabilities of systems such as the HIMARS-mounted GMRLS rockets and Patriot batteries.
However, it’s important to note that this green light is not unlimited, as Ukrainian troops will not be allowed to use long-range missile systems, such as the ATACMS, to attack military targets not clearly involved in Russian military operations against Kharkiv. The use of systems like suicide drones to conduct raids into Russian territory has already been observed in the conflict, but their limited strategic effectiveness, and sometimes their collateral effects on civilian infrastructure, have raised questions from certain U.S officials who sought to limit the scope of the decision.
For now, U.S military leadership has supported the measure, as have officials from France and the United Kingdom in recent days. Aware of the worsening situation on the front lines, France had already outlined a deployment of military instructors in Ukrainian territory, and in terms of rhetoric, it is perhaps the European country that has advocated most strongly for greater involvement of allies in the issue.
Other countries like Germany and Italy, fearing an escalation of the conflict, have taken the opposite path, expressing profound rejection of the idea in question. In a dialogue with German citizens on May 26th, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, “There are clear rules that have been agreed with Ukraine and that work,” reflecting his negative stance. This is compounded by the following statement from Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani: “Kiev’s decisions are Kiev’s decisions. But we will not send Italian troops to Ukraine, and the military instruments sent by Italy are used within Ukraine; we work for peace.”
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
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