US grants Ukraine permission to counter shelling from Russian territory

The United States' decision to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with American weapons concerns more than just the Kharkiv region, according to Michael Carpenter, Director for European Affairs of the National Security Council at the White House. He made this statement on Friday.

In an interview for Ukrainian television TSN, broadcast on Friday evening, Carpenter stated that he could not disclose the specific conditions under which Ukraine can strike Russian territory for operational security reasons. He confirmed, however, that it involves areas near the Kharkiv region and the Sumy region.

- The recommendations apply to the northern border in Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts, where Russian forces are firing on Ukraine. They (Russian troops) used to be able to fire relatively safely from there, but now Ukrainian forces can use our ammunition and weapons to be able to fire back - said the representative of the U.S. National Security Council.

Carpenter did not want to say whether Washington's decision could extend to other Russian territories.

- As I said, these recommendations concern the northern border in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, from where Russian forces are shelling Ukraine - he emphasized.

President Biden on Friday agreed that Ukraine could use American weapons against Russian forces shelling or preparing to attack the Kharkiv region. Still, the ban on using ATACMS and other long-range missiles on Russian territory will remain in effect - a representative of the U.S. administration told PAP.

As the Ukrainian Pravda portal reminded us, since February 2022, the United States has not allowed the use of any weapons they provide to Ukraine for attacks on Russian territory. Ukraine was allowed to strike targets in Crimea and Donbas, as they are within internationally recognized borders of Ukraine.