Ukraine is using US weapons to attack inside Russia, according to a senator and a Western official

WASHINGTON: Ukraine has used US weapons to attack inside Russia in recent days, according to a US senator and a Western official familiar with the matter.

The weapons were used under guidelines recently approved by President Joe Biden allowing the use of US weapons to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city.

The official was not authorized to comment publicly on this sensitive matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Senator Mike Rounds, a Republican from South Dakota and a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, confirmed the attack by US weapons, but did not say how he was informed.

According to Biden’s directive, US-supplied weapons can be used to attack Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack. US officials have said this will not change US policy that directs Ukraine not to use US-supplied ATACMS or long-range missiles and other weapons to launch an offensive inside Russia.

Ukrainian officials have asked the US to allow Kiev’s military to defend itself against attacks from Russian territory. Kharkiv lies just 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the Russian border and has come under increasing attack from Russia.

In advancing into the northeastern Kharkiv region, Russian forces have taken advantage of long-standing delays in replenishing US military aid. In addition, Western Europe’s insufficient military production has slowed the movement of vital supplies to Ukraine’s battlefields.

On Tuesday, White House national security spokesman John Kirby told reporters he could not confirm that Ukraine had used US weapons against targets in Russia.

“We’re not in a position to know on a day-to-day basis what the Ukrainians are firing at whom,” Kirby said. “It’s certainly at the tactical level.”

According to a June 3 report from the Institute for the Study of War, Ukrainian forces attacked a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery in the Belgorod region on June 1 or 2, possibly with the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, or HIMARS. The air defense system was located about 60 kilometers (about 40 miles) from the current front line in the Kharkiv region and more than 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the city of Kharkiv, which is within range of HIMARS, the institute reported.

The confirmation of the attacks came as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited Qatar, which, along with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, has been a mediator in prisoner swaps and other negotiations between Russia and Ukraine since the war began.

Zelensky met Qatar’s ruler, Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani. A readout from the state-run Qatar News Agency said the two leaders discussed ways to “stop fighting, protect civilians and keep all channels of communication open to resolve the crisis through dialogue and diplomatic means.”

Rounds said he agreed with Biden’s decision to allow the use of US weapons for strikes against Russia in limited circumstances.

“I have no problem with Ukraine using ATACMS and other weapons and all the artillery that we have available to us to push them out before they can do any more damage in Ukraine,” he said.

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Associated Press writers Tara Copp and Stephen Groves contributed to this report.

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(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – Associated Press)