Will Ukraine Strike Russia With US Weapons? What We Know

Facing growing pressure from Ukraine and its NATO allies, the U.S. on Thursday partially U-turned on its red line for strikes by Kyiv on Russian soil using Western-supplied weapons.

President Joe Biden granted Ukraine permission to use some American-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but with major caveats. Kyiv may only use the weapons in Russian territory bordering northeast Ukraine for the purpose of defending its Kharkiv region, and the use of long-range missiles such as ATACMS is prohibited on Russian soil, U.S. officials familiar with the matter told media outlets, including Newsweek.

There had been a growing chorus of calls for Ukraine to be authorized to use donated weapons to attack targets inside Russia, more than two years into the war launched by Moscow in February 2022.

Many NATO nations, including France, Poland, and the U.K., recently came out to say that they didn't have any objections regarding the use of the equipment they provided to Kyiv in the ongoing war, but the U.S. had remained steadfast in its policy that its weapons must only be used on Ukrainian territory.

"The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. supplied-weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them," a U.S. official told Newsweek.

The official was referring to an offensive kick-started by Moscow on May 10, which resulted in Russian forces seizing a number of villages on Ukraine's northeastern frontier as Kyiv suffered a shortage of ammunition and personnel.

"Our policy with respect to prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long range strikes inside of Russia has not changed," the U.S. official added.

The softening of Washington's stance will "significantly boost" Ukraine's ability to push back against Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky's press secretary Sergiy Nykyforov told reporters on Friday.

Ukraine has received "positive signals from diplomatic channels about the limited use of U.S.-supplied weapons" in Russian territory bordering northeast Ukraine, Nykyforov said.

"It will significantly boost our ability to counter Russian attempts to mass across the border," he added.

John Herbst, former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine and senior director of the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center said Thursday he believes the White House changed course on Ukrainian attacks inside Russia "in its now well-known overly cautious way."

This includes ruling out Kyiv using the 300-kilometer range ATACMS that Washington first sent to Ukraine in March. It's unclear whether Ukraine will be allowed to use its 150-kilometer range ATACMS, Herbst added.

Washington's new policy "does the minimum to help Ukraine with a difficult situation in the northeast," the former ambassador said.

"This half step is certainly better than none," he said, but added that he believes it "does not send the necessary message of American resolve to the Kremlin."

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned earlier this week that NATO countries, "especially the ones based in Europe, particularly in small European countries, should be fully aware of what is at stake" by permitting Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western weapons.

"They should keep in mind that theirs are small and densely populated countries, which is a factor to reckon with before they start talking about striking deep into the Russian territory," he said. "This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences."

"It is another step toward a serious conflict in Europe, toward a global conflict," the Russian leader added.

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