Biden authorizes Ukraine to strike targets in Russia to defend Kharkiv

An American official said that Joe Biden, who has rejected this so far, gave Ukraine the green light to strike targets on Russian territory, in the Kharkiv region, under certain conditions.

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This source said: “The president has assigned his team the task of ensuring that Ukraine is able to use American weapons for a counterattack in the Kharkiv region, in order to retaliate when Russian forces attack them or prepare to attack them.”

The official, who requested anonymity, added that the United States continues to oppose Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory.

“Our position on prohibiting the use of ATACMS or deep strikes inside Russia has not changed,” he said.

ATACMS are long-range missiles provided by the Americans to Ukraine, capable of reaching a distance of up to 300 kilometers.

The city of Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine is an almost daily target of bombings coming mainly from Russian territory.

Russia launched an attack on the region in early May, and is making progress against the faltering Ukrainian army.

Yesterday, the head of US diplomacy, Anthony Blinken, indicated that the United States had changed its position regarding Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory.

“As circumstances change, as the battlefield changes, and as Russia changes the way it conducts its aggression, we have adapted and adapted and I am confident that we will continue to do so,” he told the press during a press conference. A visit to Moldova, a country bordering Ukraine.

NATO is pushing Western capitals to lift some restrictions that “tie the Ukrainians’ hands behind their backs,” in the words of its Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, a position that has been joined by several countries, including France.

For its part, the Kremlin criticized NATO for launching a “new cycle of escalation.”