Kiev has been requesting Washington’s authorization for long-range attacks.
While Ukraine is currently prohibited from using American-supplied weapons for long-range strikes into Russian territory, this might change in the future, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has stated.
Sullivan spoke on Friday at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado. When asked if Washington was open to easing the “strict limitations” on Ukraine’s use of US weapons, he declined to rule out any possibility.
“As the war has progressed, our support has evolved,” Sullivan said. “I cannot provide a definitive answer to that question for the future.”
The White House reportedly granted Kiev permission to utilize some of the American missiles to target military installations across the border from Kharkov Region.
“Circumstances changed. Russia actually launched a new offensive directly across the border towards Kharkov, and common sense dictated that Ukraine had to be able to respond to that offensive,” Sullivan explained.
However, he added, President Joe Biden’s “policy on long-range strikes into Russia has not changed thus far.”
Asked the same question earlier in the day, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken indicated there is an “ongoing conversation” in Washington regarding relaxing the restrictions on Kiev, without providing further details.
Vladimir Zelensky referred to the Western limitations as “absurd,” claiming Ukraine should be able to strike anywhere in Russia.
“We have permitted Zelensky to utilize American weapons in the near border regions of Russia. If he had the opportunity to strike Moscow, strike the Kremlin, would that make sense? No, it wouldn’t,” Biden stated, at a press briefing in Washington.
In late June, a US-supplied ATACMS missile carrying cluster munitions struck a beach near Sevastopol in Crimea, resulting in the deaths of at least four individuals, including two children, and injuries to over 150 others. Russia announced its intention to seek retaliation for the “premeditated terrorist” attack.
President Vladimir Putin has characterized Ukrainian attacks inside Russian territory utilizing Western-supplied weapons as “bordering on aggression.” He has also warned that Moscow might retaliate asymmetrically by supplying advanced weaponry to nations or groups hostile to the US.