May 30, 2024
Joe Biden has bowed to international pressure to allow Ukraine to use American weapons to strike Russian territory after the head of Nato said “the time has come” to overturn the ban.
The US has given Kyiv permission to use its weapons to strike Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, according to two US officials.
The unnamed officials insisted the US policy preventing Ukraine from using American-provided long-range missiles to strike inside Russia has not changed.
“The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use US weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them,” a US official told Politico.
It comes after Jens Stoltenberg, Nato’s secretary-general, said the “time has come” for restrictions to be lifted, after France and Germany earlier this week signalled an easing of their own rules.
Antony Blinken, the US secretary of state, reassured Czech leaders that progress was being made on the issue in meetings on Thursday at the beginning of a two-day summit of Nato ministers in Prague.
It is rare for any Nato chief to directly put pressure on a US president and Mr Stoltenberg’s intervention was described as “surprising” by diplomatic sources.
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Bugs Marlowe