After a long debate, the Biden administration authorized Kyiv to attack the Russian border

The consequences of the evolution of the war in Ukraine could be large. According to various sources in the US administration, the US has decided to authorize Kyiv to launch attacks on Russian soil using Western weapons. The green light was given on the condition that the Ukrainians limit their bombing of the border areas of the Kharkiv region in the north of the country, where Russian forces entered on May 10 and seized more than 180 square kilometers of territory.

“President [Joe Biden] He tasked his team with ensuring that Ukraine could use U.S. weapons to launch a counteroffensive in the Kharkiv region in response to Russian forces attacking or preparing to attack.A US official indicated to Agence France-Presse on Thursday May 30, Confirms information from the site Politics. The White House’s position on long-range strikes inside Russia, by contrast, has not changed. These are banned by Washington, citing the same sources.

This evolution of the US position follows intense pressure exerted by Ukraine, but also by some of its allies who believe that the new offensive launched by Moscow has changed the situation. By attacking Ukraine from its national territory, not from the territories it occupies in Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhia or Kherson regions, Russia prevents Kiev forces from operating because they lack the ability to target troop concentrations or operate aircraft. From within enemy territory.

“U.S. policy has created a vast sanctuary in which Russia has been able to assemble its ground invasion force and launch cruise missiles and other long-range strike systems to support its new invasion.”, the American think tank Institute for War Studies expressed regret in a note released on May 13. Ukrainians are particularly concerned about a new group of Russian troops further north in the Sumy region, after an offensive launched on May 10 towards the country’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.

Intense debate within the US administration

This US relaxation comes after a heated debate within the Biden administration. For weeks, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken defied National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan’s firm stance in favor of limited strikes on Russian soil. During a visit to Kyiv on May 15, the diplomatic chief outlined an early start and confirmed that. “Ukraine must make its own decisions about how it will face this war”. The reports were immediately denied by the Pentagon and the White House.

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