US policy allows Ukraine limited strikes on Russian targets Amidst restrictions

A new US policy allowing Ukraine to fire certain American weapons at Russian territory has led to a reduction in some Russian attacks but still restricts the range enough that it prevents Ukraine from hitting key airfields, two Ukrainian officials said.

Those airfields are used by Russian jets that drop the deadly glide bombs now inflicting the greatest damage on military positions and civilians, The Wahington Post reports.

The Ukrainian officials said the United States has restricted Ukraine to firing less than 100 kilometers, or about 62 miles, from the border. Both spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the rule. US officials declined to specify the limitation but said the Ukrainians’ assertion of less than 100 kilometers was incorrect.

“The US has agreed to allow Ukraine to fire US-provided weapons into Russia across where Russian forces are coming to attempt to take Ukrainian territory,” said a Pentagon spokesman, Maj. Charlie Dietz.

“This is not about geography or a certain radius, but if Russia is attacking or about to attack from its territory into Ukraine, Ukraine has the ability to hit back against the forces that are hitting it from across the border.”

Ukraine is also permitted to use US-supplied air defence systems to strike Russian planes “if they’re about to fire into Ukrainian airspace,” Dietz said.

While officials in Kyiv do not want to be seen as publicly contradicting their American counterparts, it is clear that the Ukrainian military does not believe it has as much latitude as the statements from White House and Pentagon officials seem to suggest.

And the results of Ukrainian strikes in the three weeks since Washington approved Ukraine’s request to use certain Western weapons to hit Russian territory corroborate the Ukrainian description of a significantly restrictive range.