USA permits Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory (Updated)
The United States has made the decision to permit Ukraine to employ American weapons against Russian military installations involved in the Kharkiv offensive. This comes after growing calls from NATO allies to allow Ukraine to strike targets inside Russia to defend against the imminent threat. This follows a decision by UK government in the same manner earlier this month.
This decisions by leading supporters of Ukraine enhances the pressure on German government following the beaten track. German chancellor Olaf Scholz still remains clearly against this step – while he and his party are the sole leftovers within the German security community.
Update May 31, 12 pm: In the meanwhile Germany has officially announced
its agreement on usage of German weapons on Russian territory.
This means, Germany has been the last major supporter of Ukraine, accepting this step.
President Biden’s decision overcomes previous hesitation from the US and many allies about authorizing strikes on Russian soil, fearing potential escalation and being drawn into a wider conflict with Russia. However, many now argue Ukraine desperately needs this capability to defend itself, especially against the looming Russian offensive toward Kharkiv near the border.
“Russian commanders are well aware of Ukraine’s inability to strike back, and are actively exploiting the border zone as a safe haven to concentrate forces and launch bombardments,” wrote Peter Dickinson of the Atlantic Council. The US permission is limited to attacking Russian military sites involved in the Kharkiv operation.
Weapons against Russian military – clear statement from NATO and allies
A number of senior Western officials have recently backed lifting restrictions on using Western arms inside Russia, including the NATO Parliamentary Assembly, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg, UK Foreign Secretary David Cameron, French President Emmanuel Macron, and the Dutch Defense Minister. Germany still is the last major supporter of Ukraine which is hesitant on using weapons against russian military in Russia.
