Kyiv can strike inside Russia beyond Kharkiv area if necessary, US says

An aerial view of the Pentagon, May 15, 2023. Photo for illustrative purposes. (U.S. Department of Defense, Air Force Staff)

Ukrainian troops may use U.S. weapons to strike targets within Russia wherever Russian forces launch cross-border assaults on Ukrainian territory, not just near the Kharkiv Oblast border, U.S. officials confirmed to Politico on June 20.

The officials denied that this was a substantive policy change from U.S. President Joe Biden's statement granting Ukraine permission to use American weapons in Russia "solely near the area of Kharkiv."

U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told PBS News on June 17 that Ukraine is allowed to strike "anywhere that Russian forces are coming across the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try to take additional Ukrainian territory."

Sullivan said that if Moscow launched an offensive against Sumy Oblast, Kyiv would have permission to use U.S. arms to strike inside Russia near the Sumy border.

Two U.S. officials, speaking anonymously, told Politico that the announcement does not reflect a shift in policy. Washington's original permission to fire across the border came in the context of Russia'soffensive against Kharkiv Oblast but did not preclude responding to cross-border attacks in other regions, the officials said.

The officials also emphasized that the policy prohibiting Ukraine from launching long-range strikes with U.S. weapons inside Russian territory "has not changed."

Sullivan said the U.S. position on the matter "is not about geography."

"It's about common sense," he said.

"If Russia is attacking or about to attack from its territory into Ukraine, it only makes sense to allow Ukraine to hit back against the forces that are hitting it from across the border."

Previous statements on the matter from U.S. officials, including Biden, have stressed that the permission only extends to Russian positions near Kharkiv Oblast.