The US extends the authorization for strikes inside Russia. Ukraine can use US-supplied weapons to strike "anywhere" in the Russia's border area, from where Russian troops are attacking.
This was reported by Politico with reference to two US officials.
According to Politico, the United States said that Ukraine can use American weapons to strike Russian targets attacking from across the border, not just within the Kharkiv Region.
"The subtle shift in messaging, which officials insist is not a change in policy, comes just weeks after the U.S. quietly gave Kyiv the green light to strike inside Russia in response to a cross-border assault on the city of Kharkiv. At the time, U.S. officials stressed that the policy was limited to the Kharkiv Region, among other restrictions," the report says.
Politico recalls that since then, Ukrainian forces have used American weapons at least once to strike at Russian territory, in particular in the city of Belgorod. But, according to the newspaper, Ukrainian and European officials continued to press the United States to loosen restrictions on Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.
Citing two U.S. officials, Politico notes that this authorization to strike Russian territory in response to counterfire from anywhere across the border is not considered a change in policy from the previous decision. One official said that "the move was characterized only in the context of the ongoing Kharkiv assault, but that did not exclude the possibility of hitting back against other cross-border attacks."
However, as mentioned in the report, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Tuesday that the agreement with Ukraine to fire American weapons at Russia applies to "anywhere that Russian forces are coming across the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try to take additional Ukrainian territory."
"This is not about geography. It’s about common sense. If Russia is attacking or about to attack from its territory into Ukraine, it only makes sense to allow Ukraine to hit back against the forces that are hitting it from across the border," Sullivan said.
Back in May 2024, a senior U.S. official said: "The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them."
Instead, the current US position, as described by the US National Security Advisor, is significantly different from the May statements.
Earlier, Apostrophe reported that Ukraine launched first strikes inside Russia with American arms.