President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use weapons provided by the U.S. that can strike inside Russian territory, U.S. officials said according to Politico.
The Biden administration has said Ukraine should not use long-range weapons to strike military targets much farther inside Russia.
“The President recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them,” one of the U.S. officials said, according to Politico, which added, “In effect, Ukraine can now use American-provided weapons, such as rockets and rocket launchers, to shoot down launched Russian missiles heading toward Kharkiv, at troops massing just over the Russian border near the city, or Russian bombers launching bombs toward Ukrainian territory.”
On May 24, the Biden administration announced it would send a $275 million military aid package to Ukraine, including ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS); artillery rounds; TOW missiles; and Javelin and AT-4 anti-armor systems, among other materiel.
Russian forces are nearing Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, only 30 miles south of the border with Russia. They started their offensive on May 10, after Congress passed a $60 billion supplemental package that included military aid to Ukraine but before the aid could be sent.
“Right now, the Russians have the initiative across the entire theater. They’re dictating the place, the time, the intensity and the tempo of military operations,” George Barros, the Russia Team & Geospatial Intelligence Team Lead on the Russia and Ukraine portfolio at the Institute for the Study of War, stated. “This time last year there was no problem with Ukrainian manpower. There were volunteer drives where men were signing up in huge numbers. They were coming off successful counteroffensives in 2022 and received new equipment from the West in early 2023. Morale was high and things were hopeful for the future. … [Ukrainian forces] feel abandoned. Morale is low, they don’t feel supported. They know DC is constraining their ability to defend themselves.”
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