Biden Reportedly Gives Ukraine OK to Strike Russia With US Weapons

U.S. President Joe Biden has partially lifted his administration's ban on Ukrainian use of U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets inside Russia, according to Thursday reporting—a policy critics have called a provocative escalation of the 27-month war.

Citing "people familiar with the move," Politicoreported that Biden has quietly given Kyiv the green light to carry out limited cross-border strikes near Kharkiv as Russian forces menace Ukraine's second-largest city.

"The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S. weapons for counter-fire purposes in Kharkiv so Ukraine can hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them," one American official told the outlet. The official said that Biden's prohibition on long-range attacks inside Russia "has not changed." They gave a similar statement to The Hill.

"The No. 1 priority for U.S.-Ukraine policy should be avoiding escalation to direct U.S. conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia."

Russian President Vladimir Putin—who ordered the invasion of his neighbor in February 2022—warned Tuesday that any attacks by Ukrainian forces on Russia using Western-supplied weapons "can lead to serious consequences."

Biden's reversal came amid divided opinion in his administration over whether to allow Ukraine to use U.S. arms to attack Russia. Secretary of State Antony Blinken favored the more aggressive policy, which is supported by major NATO allies including Germany, France, the United Kingdom, and Canada.

Anti-war voices sounded the alarm over Biden's shift, with Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Pietro Parolin saying, "I think this possibility should concern everyone who cares about the fate of our world."

"It could lead to an escalation that no one will be able to control," he added.

Defense Priorities, a Washington, D.C.-based foreign policy think tank, said on social media that "the No. 1 priority for U.S.-Ukraine policy should be avoiding escalation to direct U.S. conflict with a nuclear-armed Russia."

"When the U.S. should be exercising its diplomatic power, it is instead entrenching itself deeper into a war Kyiv is unlikely to win," the Koch brothers-funded organization added.