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The
leaders of France, Germany, and the U.S. have authorized Ukraine’s use of
long-range weapons to strike Russian military targets well
beyond the front lines of Vladimir Putin’s Ukraine invasion. Several news
outlets reported the development out of the White House Thursday,
including the New York Times (calling
it a “major shift”), Politico,
and the Associated Press.
State Secretary Antony Blinken confirmed the updated policy Friday at a
press conference in Prague.
“Over
the past few weeks, Ukraine came to us and asked for the authorization to
use weapons that we're providing to defend against this aggression,
including against Russian forces that are massing on the Russian side of
the border and then attacking into Ukraine,” said Blinken. “That went
right to the President, and as you've heard, he's approved use of our
weapons for that purpose,” he said. “Going forward, we'll continue to do
what we've been doing, which is as necessary adapt and adjust,” he
added.
Caveat:
U.S.-provided weapons can only be used in this new manner for
“counterfire purposes in the Kharkiv region so
Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or
preparing to attack them,” a U.S. official told AP. Ukraine is also reportedly not
allowed to use long-range missiles known as ATACMS, with a range of up to
186 miles, to attack targets inside Russia.
Kharkiv
is home to Ukraine’s second-largest city, and it borders Russia, which
has massed thousands of troops there over
the past several weeks possibly signaling a coming offensive, possibly in
preparation for an attempt to create a “buffer zone” in the area,
possibly just a feint to draw Ukraine troops away from other highly
contested regions of the country, including Donetsk to the east, or
possibly a combination of all three.
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