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U.S. President Joe Biden has authorized Ukraine to use U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near the Kharkiv region, according to U.S. officials.
One told BBC News that his team had been tasked with ensuring that Ukraine was able to use US weapons for “counter-fire purposes” to “retaliate against Russian forces that hit them or prepare to hit them.”
Russian forces have advanced in the Kharkiv region in recent weeks after a surprise offensive in this area near the border with Russia.
Ukrainian officials said Friday that three people were killed and 16 others injured in the Russian shelling of a residential building on the outskirts of the city of Kharkiv.
The US official also told the BBC: “Our policy regarding prohibiting the use of the Army’s Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or long-range strikes inside Russia has not exchange. »
Asked by CBS, the BBC’s US partner, whether the new policy included attacking Russian planes, an official replied: “We never told them (Ukraine) that they couldn’t shoot down a plane. Russian plane above Russian soil coming to attack them.
The White House and State Department had no immediate comment.
The UK had previously indicated it was open to easing restrictions on how Ukraine could use weapons supplied by the West.
Despite concerns that such a development could further escalate the conflict, several European leaders have also recently called for an easing of restrictions on the use of these weapons.
But Washington, which supplies most of Ukraine’s weapons, has resisted easing these restrictions for fear of an escalation.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at the change during a visit to Moldova on Wednesday.
“Every step of the way, we have adapted and adjusted as necessary,” he said.
“And that’s exactly what we will do going forward.”
Russian forces appear to have recently taken advantage of a window of opportunity to move deeper into Ukrainian territory in Kharkiv as kyiv waits for new Western weapons to arrive at the front.
On Friday morning, Kharkiv regional governor Oleh Syniehubov said on Telegram that Russian shelling hit a five-story building in Kharkiv’s Novobavarskyi district, destroying part of the building and causing a fire.
At least three people were killed and 16 others were injured, including a 12-year-old boy and girl, both of whom were taken to hospital, he said.
The Ukrainian official accused Russian forces of targeting “exclusively civilian infrastructure” and using a “double strike tactic,” hitting the site a second time after paramedics and rescue workers arrived.
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News Source : www.bbc.com
