Joe Biden, who has refused to do so until now, has given the green light for Ukraine to strike targets on Russian soil, in the Kharkiv region, under certain conditions, an American official said.
“The president has tasked his team with ensuring that Ukraine can use American weapons to counterattack in the Kharkiv region, so as to retaliate when Russian forces attack them or prepare to attack them “, said this source.
The official, who requested anonymity, added, however, that the United States continued 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 supplied by the Americans to Ukraine, capable of reaching a distance of up to 300 km.
Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, is the almost daily target of bombings coming mainly from Russian territory.
Russia launched an offensive in the region at the beginning of May, and is gaining ground against a struggling Ukrainian army.
The head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken suggested yesterday that the United States had changed its position in terms of Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil.
“As conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as Russia has changed the way it conducts its aggression, we have adapted and adjusted and I am confident that we will continue to do so,” he said. he told the press during a visit to Moldova, a country bordering Ukraine.
NATO is pushing Western capitals to lift restrictions that “tie the hands behind the backs of the Ukrainians”, in the words of its Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, a position supported by several countries, including France.
The Kremlin, for its part, criticized the Atlantic alliance for launching “a new cycle of escalation”.