Biden lifts arms ban: Ukrainian forces cleared to strike Russia
President of the USA, Joe Biden, has allowed Ukraine to carry out attacks using American weapons on targets in Russia, but only near the border in the Kharkiv region.
The situation in the Kharkiv region, where Russian troops are conducting an offensive, has convinced the US authorities to permit the Ukrainian army to strike targets on Russian territory using American weapons.
According to United States media, Ukraine spent 17 days convincing the White House to lift the ban.
As early as March, officials noticed that Russian troops were amassing forces on the Russian-Ukrainian border near Kharkiv. In mid-March, intense attacks on the Kharkiv region began with aerial bombs and other attacks that damaged the region’s energy infrastructure, cutting off power in most parts of the area.
The Ukrainian leadership was already concerned about the situation but was aware of the delicate moment. At that time, the US Congress was still debating a bill to grant Kyiv $61 billion in military aid. Therefore, Kyiv decided not to insist on lifting the ban on the use of American weapons against targets on Russian territory.
At the end of April, the United States approved the military aid bill for Ukraine and began increasing deliveries. However, this happened too late and could not prevent the impending offensive.
When, on 10 May, Russia initiated the offensive, its troops quickly crossed the northern border of Ukraine near Kharkiv, exposing the city, according to "The Washington Post," to the risk of not only continuous shelling but also occupation.
Joe Biden changed his decision
Ukrainian military officials stated that in the early days of the offensive, the Russian army could almost freely attack them from Russian territory, which could have been avoided if Ukraine had struck targets in the Russian Federation using American weapons.
In May, Ukrainian representatives spent an hour and a half via video link, convincing three senior US security officials. After this conversation, US officials agreed to present the Ukrainians’ request to US President Joe Biden and advise him to lift the ban.
Biden agreed to relax the restrictions but requested detailed changes to the conditions and preparations for implementing the new policy.
According to "The Washington Post," the United States allowed Ukrainian armed forces to use HIMARS rocket artillery with a range of about 80 kilometres to strike military targets on Russian territory but agreed that there would be no changes in the restrictions on the use of long-range weapons such as ATACMS.
