US allows Ukraine to strike at Russian border area "anywhere" in case of threat of attacks – Politico

The US has told Ukraine that it can use US-delivered weapons to strike "anywhere" in the Russian border area where Russian forces are bombarding Ukraine from – not just near Kharkiv Oblast.

Source: Politico with reference US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and two unnamed US officials

Details: Politico noted that this subtle change in the messages coming from US officials happenned just weeks after the US had given Kyiv the green light to launch strikes inside Russia in response to the cross-border attacks on the city of Kharkiv. At the time, US officials stressed that this policy had been limited to Kharkiv Oblast.

Since then, Ukrainian forces have used US-supplied weapons to strike inside Russia at least once, destroying targets in the city of Belgorod, and have succeeded in holding back the Russian offensive. But Ukrainian and other European officials have been pressing the US to extend its authorisations, allowing Ukraine to strike anywhere in Russia.

Sullivan said in a PBS interview on Tuesday that the agreement with Ukraine on US weapons strikes against Russia covers "anywhere that Russian forces are coming across the border from the Russian side to the Ukrainian side to try to take additional Ukrainian territory."

In recent days, Russia has said that it may soon advance on the northeastern city of Sumy, which is also close to the Russian border. Sullivan said that if this happens, the policy of allowing strikes with provided weapons will be applied there.

Quote from Sullivan: "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."

More details: Two US officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory in response to fire from anywhere along the border does not represent a change in policy since the decision on Kharkiv Oblast. Initially, this move was only considered in the context of the Kharkiv offensive, but this does not exclude the possibility of retaliatory strikes in response to other cross-border attacks.

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

Back then, a senior US official said: "The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them."

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

Previously: The White House confirmed its authorisation for Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons on Russian territory from the Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts of Ukraine.

Background:

• Sullivan said that the Ukrainians had used the authorisation to strike Russian territory near the border with US-delivered weapons, and the momentum of the Russian operation in Kharkiv Oblast had stalled.
• Analysts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) estimated that the limited authorisations to hit targets in Russia with the weapons provided by the US had reduced the Russian safe space by 16%.

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