President Biden, under pressure from his national security adviser and European allies, has authorized Ukraine to launch limited strikes inside Russia with U.S.-made weapons, a move that could open a new chapter in the war in Ukraine, U.S. officials said Thursday.
Biden’s decision appears to be the first time a U.S. president has authorized limited military strikes against artillery, missile sites and command centers within the borders of a nuclear-armed enemy. But White House officials insisted the authorization only applied to actions they described as self-defense so that Ukraine could protect its second-largest city, Kharkiv, and its northeastern region from relentless missile attacks. Bombs and shells flew in from just across the border.
“The President recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine can use U.S.-supplied weapons in the Kharkiv region for counteroffensive purposes so that Ukraine can counterattack Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack them,” a U.S. official said. “he said. said in a statement released by the administration. “Our policy on prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long-range strikes inside Russia has not changed,” the statement said, referring to artillery systems provided to Ukraine with the ability to reach deep into Russian territory.
Inside the White House, Mr. Biden’s deliberations were closely conducted, known only to a very small number of aides. But the New York Times reported last week that Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken returned from a sobering trip to Kiev and privately told the president that a 27-month ban on firing American weapons into Russian territory was now deploying some. Yes. Ukraine at risk. He said the Russians were taking advantage of the president’s ban and launching persistent attacks in safe havens just inside the Russian border.
Around that time, the president’s national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, also began to change his views, senior officials said. So did America’s allies. The UK allowed Ukraine to use its Storm Shadow long-range missile system to strike across Russia a few weeks ago, and France and Germany have recently taken the same stance. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg did the same.
The decision follows weeks of discussions with Ukraine after Russia launched a major offensive against Kharkiv.
Because Kharkiv is so close to Russia, Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has repeatedly called on President Biden and his associates for the right to strike back from inside Russia. Biden ignored those calls for months, worried that using American weapons could escalate the conflict and force the United States into a direct confrontation with Russia.
When he relented, it was in the most narrowly defined way. U.S. officials said only that Biden’s authorization was for Ukraine to attack Russian military bases used to attack the Kharkiv region. Russian attacks elsewhere, even near the capital Kiev, cannot be countered using American weapons.
A senior U.S. official in Washington said there was no change to the administration’s policy of banning Ukraine from using U.S.-made weapons for “long-range” attacks inside Russia.
Mr. Biden’s decision was reported by Politico earlier Thursday.
U.S. officials have said the Pentagon is responsible for providing Ukraine with precise guidance on what kind of attacks it can launch from Russia. These details have already been conveyed by Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III to General Christopher G. Cavoli, four-star commander of the U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander in Europe. Officials said it was General Cavoli who conveyed this decision to Ukraine.
