- Germany said Ukraine could also use German-supplied weapons against Russian targets near their joint border, reversing a similar US policy.
- US President Biden has allowed Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to retaliate against Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to do so, but has still not allowed their use for offensive strikes.
- Russia is attacking Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, the country’s second-largest city.
The German government said on Friday that Ukraine could use German-supplied weapons against Russian attacks from just over their joint border, a significant policy shift that comes a day after U.S. President Joe Biden launched attacks on Russia. Biden gives Kiev the green light The plan is to attack Russian military assets with US weapons, targeting the country’s second largest city.
A German government statement said that in recent weeks Russia had prepared, coordinated and carried out attacks on Ukraine’s northeastern Kharkiv region, particularly from areas across the Russian border.
“We all agree that Ukraine has the right under international law to defend itself against these attacks,” the statement said, “and to this end it can use whatever weapons are available to it for that purpose in accordance with its international legal commitments, including those provided by us.” Berlin did not elaborate on the confidential agreements with Kiev, the statement said.
Russia moves troops to reinforce forces in key Kharkiv region
Russian attacks in the northeastern Kharkiv region this month, including a Russian aerial bomb attack on a large construction supplies store on May 25 that killed 18 people, have forced the evacuation of thousands of people and put pressure on Ukraine’s weakened military in what is proving to be a critical period in the war, now in its third year. It also appears to have prompted a shift in policy among Western leaders.
The Kremlin’s larger and better-equipped army is taking advantage of a shortage of troops and ammunition in Ukraine following long-standing delays in US military aid. Western Europe’s inadequate military production has also slowed the crucial supply of military aid to Ukraine.
A Washington official told The Associated Press that Biden’s decision would allow U.S.-supplied weapons to be used “for retaliatory strikes in the Kharkiv region, so that Ukraine can strike back against Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack them.”
Firefighters extinguish a fire at an apartment building damaged by a Russian missile attack, in Kharkiv, Ukraine, May 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Andrey Marienko)
But the officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, stressed that U.S. policy, which calls for Ukraine not to use the U.S.-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles and other weapons to launch an offensive inside Russia, had not changed.
Germany’s announcement came hours after Russian ballistic missiles hit an apartment block in Kharkiv, killing at least four people in an overnight attack.
The Ukrainian air force reported that Russia fired five S-300/S-400 ballistic missiles at Kharkiv overnight. One of them struck a residential building around midnight, and another missile was fired 25 minutes later, targeting rescue workers who were at the scene, according to regional governor Oleh Sinyhubov. He said at least 25 people were injured.
Ukrainian officials have previously Accusations against Russia The tactic is to fire two missiles in succession at residential buildings targeting rescue workers—the first missile to bring emergency teams to the scene and the second missile to injure or kill them. This tactic is called a “double tap” in military jargon. Russia used this tactic in the Syrian civil war as well.
Besides Kharkiv, Moscow’s forces are also advancing in the Donetsk region in the south and amassing forces for a possible offensive in the Sumy region in the north, according to Ukrainian officials.
Restrictions on the use of Western weapons have so far frustrated Ukrainian authorities, as the army has been unable to give the order to attack Russian troops amassed across the border — the city of Kharkiv is just 12 miles from Russia — or Russian targets used to launch missile attacks.
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The question of whether to allow Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil with weapons supplied by Western countries has remained a delicate issue ever since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022.
Western leaders are hesitant to take this step because it risks sparking terrorism. Russian President Vladimir PutinWho have repeatedly warned that direct involvement of the West could lead the world on the path of nuclear conflict.
But as Russia recently seized the battlefield initiative along parts of the 600-mile front line, some Western leaders are pressing for a change in policy that would allow Kiev to strike military targets inside Russia with sophisticated long-range weapons provided by its Western allies.
