(RightWing.org) – The Russo-Ukraine war has been ongoing for more than two years now. Over the last few months, Congress had been at a standstill as to whether to send more aid to the war-torn country. In the end, it passed a package totaling nearly $61 billion to equip the country with more weapons and munitions to help it fight off its aggressors. The Biden Administration also recently seemingly changed its policy stance on the use of the weapons.
Permission to Strike Inside Russia
On Thursday, May 30, POLITICO reported that the Biden Administration had quietly permitted Ukraine to strike back at Russia using weapons provided by the United States. This was seen as a policy reversal, where previously the Ukrainian military was told it could not use the weapons to strike Russia’s interior.
The administration made it clear that the missiles could only be used to strike in self-defense in the region near Kharkiv. They are permitted for use in counter-fire purposes to strike Russian forces that are firing or planning to fire at them. It has cautioned that Ukraine is not to use the weapons to strike at civilian infrastructure.
Russia had gained a stronghold on the region, taking over towns and villages in Ukraine’s second-largest city. One of the US officials speaking to POLITICO on the condition of anonymity said that long-range strikes are still prohibited and that the stance on using American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles to offensively strike Russia “has not changed.” The US has decided to allow “flexibility” so Ukraine can defend itself from border attacks. It had denied such use in the past amid concerns that Russia would use this as a means of escalating the conflict, perhaps even threatening nuclear war.
After the US changed its stance to allow these strikes in defense of its border, Germany followed suit and permitted Ukraine to use German-made weapons in a similar fashion.
Ukraine Deploys Missiles
As of June 3, a report from the Institute for the Study of War indicated that Ukraine likely used the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) to strike an air defense battery located in Russia’s Belgorod region. This was confirmed to The Associated Press by a Western official and a US senator, who both chose to remain anonymous.
National Security Spokesman John Kirby said he could not confirm as the US isn’t “in a position on a day-to-day basis of knowing exactly what the Ukrainians are firing at what.”
Copyright 2024, RightWing.org
