Biden admin allows US weapons to be used to strike Russian territory despite previous prohibition: report

The Biden administration has reportedly allowed Ukraine to strike targets inside Russian territory after it prohibited Ukraine from doing so before. This comes as the Russian forces have taken area in Kharkiv in recent weeks.   

A US official familiar with the matters told Politico, "The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them." The official added that the policy on allowing long-range strikes inside Russia "has not changed."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken previously suggested the possibility in a joint meeting with Moldovan President Maia Sandu where reporters were able to be present. Blinken prefaced the suggestion, saying, "We haven’t encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine."   

"But Ukraine, as I’ve said before, has to make its own decisions about the best way to effectively defend itself.  We’re going to make sure that it has the equipment it needs to do that," he added in response to the question on the possibility of the US allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russian territory with US weaponry.   

Blinken chose his words carefully, not explicitly supporting or defending an action of Ukraine hitting targets in the interior of Russia. "Another hallmark of our support for Ukraine over these, now, more than two years has been to adapt as conditions have changed and the battlefield has changed, as what Russia does has changed in terms of how it's pursuing its aggression and escalation, we’ve adapted and adjusted too, and I’m confident we’ll continue to do that." he said.  

Russian's foreign ministry has warned that if Ukraine was obtaining longer-range missiles from the US in order to strike Russian soil, the Kremlin would see the US as a "direct party to the conflict," according to the Daily Mail. The US is Ukraine's most important supplier of weaponry and passed a $61 billion aid package for the country in April. According to recent polls, a majority of Americans have said they think that the US is spending too much on foreign aid, with 57 percent of likely US voters. Only 23 percent said that the amount spent is about right in April.   

The Biden administration has broken several promises in the amount of weaponry sent to the country.