US officials: Biden allows Ukraine limited use of US arms to strike inside Russia

President Joe Biden has quietly authorized Kyiv to launch US-supplied weapons at military targets inside Russia that are supporting an offensive against the northeastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv, four US officials said on Thursday.

The decision marks a policy shift by Biden, who had steadfastly refused to allow Ukraine to use American weaponry for strikes inside Russia.

Russia's embassy in Washington and Russia's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Biden's decision applies only to targets inside Russia near the border with the Kharkiv region, where an offensive launched by Moscow on May 10 has overrun some villages.

"The President recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them," said one US official.

Russia is building up forces near the northern part of the region, but it lacks the troop numbers to stage a major push, Ukraine's top commander said on Thursday.

"The Biden administration has come a long way from their hypersensitivity to and misunderstanding of the risk of escalation," said Alexander Vindman, a retired Army lieutenant colonel and former director for European affairs at the White House National Security Council under the Trump administration.

He applauded the shift in Biden's policy, which he said "unties Ukraine's hands."

"Of course it's the right move," Vindman said.

The officials said that US policy would continue to prohibit the Ukrainian military from using ATACMS, which have a range of up to 186 miles (300 km), and other long-range US-supplied weapons for deep strikes inside Russia.

Biden's decision also does not mean the US now approves of drone attacks that Ukraine has been launching against Russian petroleum facilities, they said.

Reuters