Politico: The US Allows Ukraine To Hit Any Targets In Russia With American Weapons

And not only near the Kharkiv region.

The United States allowed Ukraine to use American weapons to defeat any Russian forces attacking across the border, not just those near the Kharkiv region.

Politico reports, citing US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and two unnamed US officials.

The publication notes that this barely noticeable change in the messages of American officials occurred just a few weeks after the United States gave Kyiv the “green light” to strike inside Russia in response to a cross-border attack on the city of Kharkiv. At that time, American officials stressed that this policy was limited to the Kharkiv region.

Since then, Ukrainian troops have used American weapons at least once to strike Russian territory, destroying targets in the city of Belgorod, and managed to contain the Russian offensive. But Ukrainian and other European officials pressured the US to ease its restrictions even further, allowing Ukraine to strike anywhere in Russia.

Sullivan said on Tuesday in an interview with PBS that the agreement with Ukraine on strikes with USweapons against Russia applies to “any place where Russian troops cross the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try to seize more Ukrainian territory.”

“This is not about geography. It's about common sense. 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,” Sullivan added.

In recent days, Russia has said it may soon advance on the northeastern city of Sumy, which is also near the Russian border. If that happens, the policy of allowing strikes with provided weapons would apply there as well, Sullivan said.

Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, noted that allowing Ukraine to strike Russia "in response to fire from anywhere on the border" was not a change in White House policy. At first, this step was considered only in the context of the Kharkiv offensive of the Russian Federation, but this does not exclude the possibility of striking in response to other cross-border attacks.

However, Sullivan's speech is markedly different from what US officials said in May, when the new policy was developed in detail.

Then a senior US official said, “Recently, the president directed his team to ensure that Ukraine could use American weapons in response to strikes on Kharkiv, so that Ukraine could strike back at Russian forces that are striking or preparing to strike.”

The policy of preventing long-range strikes inside Russia "has not changed," the official stressed.