Biden permits Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil near border

The situation in the Kharkiv region, where Russian troops are conducting an offensive, has convinced U.S. authorities to allow the Ukrainian army to strike Russian targets with American weapons.

According to media reports in the United States, Ukraine spent 17 days convincing the White House to lift the ban.

As early as March, officials noticed that Russian troops were amassing forces on the Russian-Ukrainian border near Kharkiv. In mid-March, intense attacks on the Kharkiv region began, involving aerial bombs and other assaults that damaged the region’s energy infrastructure and cut off power to most parts of the area.

The Ukrainian leadership was already concerned about the situation but was aware of the delicate timing. At that time, the U.S. Congress was still debating a bill to grant Kyiv $61 billion in military aid. Therefore, Kyiv decided not to insist on lifting the ban on the use of American weapons against targets on Russian territory.

At the end of April, the United States approved the military aid bill for Ukraine and began increasing deliveries. However, this approval came too late to prevent the impending offensive.

When on May 10, Russia initiated the offensive, its troops quickly crossed the northern border of Ukraine near Kharkiv, exposing the city, according to "The Washington Post," to the risk of continuous shelling and potential occupation.

Ukrainian military officials stated that in the early days of the offensive, the Russian army could almost freely attack them from Russian territory, which could have been avoided if Ukraine had been able to strike targets in the Russian Federation using American weapons.

In May, Ukrainian representatives spent 90 minutes via video link convincing three senior U.S. security officials. Following this conversation, U.S. officials agreed to present the Ukrainians’ request to President Joe Biden and advised him to lift the ban.

Biden agreed to relax the restrictions but requested detailed changes to the conditions and preparations for implementing the new policy.

According to "The Washington Post," the United States allowed Ukrainian armed forces to use HIMARS rocket artillery with a range of about 50 miles to strike military targets on Russian territory but agreed that there would be no changes in the restrictions on the use of long-range weapons such as ATACMS.