Where in Russia is Ukraine Allowed to Strike Using US-Supplied Weapons?
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Last week, outlets across the spectrum reported that United States officials granted Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia using U.S.-supplied weapons. What are the limitations to this permission?
For Context: Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, U.S. officials have refused to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with weapons supplied by the U.S. out of fear of escalating the conflict and potentially pulling NATO into a direct confrontation with Russia. This position changed recently due to a new Russian push toward the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.
Details: U.S. officials granted Ukraine permission to strike inside Russia with U.S. weapons near Kharkiv, which is 19 miles away from the border with Russia. The U.S. permission to strike with U.S. weapons is limited to the Russian region bordering Kharkiv. It does not extend deeper into Russia.
Key Quotes: President Joe Biden clarified these limitations on Thursday during an interview with ABC News (Lean Left bias), stating, “They're authorized to be used in proximity to the border when they're being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine. We're not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia and we're not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin.”
How the Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum are reporting that Ukraine is already taking advantage of these new permissions, with U.S.-supplied weapons reportedly striking Russian missile launchers in the Belgorod region earlier this week.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Biden tells Muir US weapons will not be used to strike Moscow, KremlinPresident Joe Biden was adamant that U.S. weapons would not be used to strike Moscow or the Kremlin after he authorized Ukraine to use them in Russia during an exclusive interview with ABC News anchor David Muir at the Normandy American Cemetery on the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Muir asked Biden if U.S.-made weapons have already been used in Russia since he signed off on their use, limiting use to areas near the Russian-occupied Kharkiv region. The president did not directly answer, but made clear they would not be authorized...
From the Center
What have Ukraine's allies said about striking Russia with Western weapons?Ukraine has urged its allies to allow Kyiv to use Western-supplied arms to conduct strikes inside Russia and abandon an official position some of them have held throughout Russia's 27-month-old full-scale invasion.
President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told Reuters on May 20 that talks had taken place with Kyiv's allies about using their weapons to strike Russian military targets at the border and further inside Russia.
He said the talks had yielded "nothing positive", but some partners have shifted their rhetoric on the matter.
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned NATO members on...
From the Right
Ukraine just used US rockets to strike targets inside Russia for the first timeKyiv has used US weapons inside Russia just days after President Biden approved the tactic for defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials said.
Yehor Chernev – the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s committee on national security, defense and intelligence – said Kyiv used the weapons to destroy Russian missile launchers in the Belgorod region, The New York Times reports.
While the Ukrainian military has remained silent on the weapons’ usage, a western official familiar with the matter also confirmed the use.
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