U.S. officials revealed that the Biden administration has quietly granted Ukraine permission to strike Russia near the Kharkiv region using weapons supplied by the United States, according to an American official and two others familiar with the matter on Thursday. This significant shift will help Ukraine better defend against its second largest city, as reported by Politico. An American official confirmed that "the president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. weapons for fire countermeasures in Kharkiv so that Ukraine can respond to Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack them." However, permission for long-range strikes within Russia "has not changed" and has not been granted thus far.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg stated that it is time for member countries to reconsider the restrictions limiting Kyiv's ability to defend itself. He explained that in recent weeks and months, most of the violent battles have occurred along the border between Russia and Ukraine, so he believes it’s time to reassess some of those restrictions to truly enable Ukrainians to defend themselves.
The current NATO meeting, which continues for two days, is focused on efforts to come up with a support package for Ukraine at the NATO summit scheduled to be held in Washington. The discussions dominating the talks among member states revolve around whether Kyiv should be allowed to use weapons received from its Western supporters to strike targets within Russian territory. Ukraine is pressuring its supporters, led by the United States, to permit the use of long-range weapons that they provide to target Russian territory.
