Ukraine received the Pentagon’s consent to use US weapons on military targets located throughout Russia, and not just near the Kharkov region.
About this on Thursday, June 20, how writes Deutsche Welle publication, said Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder of the US Air Force. He explained:
“The ability to fire back is what this policy is about… When we see Russian troops firing across the border, Ukraine can fire back at those ground forces using U.S.-provided munitions.”
Ryder justified this by saying that the actions of the Ukrainian army in this case are “self-defense,” “so they should have such an opportunity.” According to a Pentagon press secretary, The permission given to Ukraine to use American weapons to strike Russia applies not only to the territory near the Kharkov regionclarifies DW.
Earlier, in an interview with the American television channel PBS, US Presidential Assistant for National Security Jake Sullivan, answering a journalist’s question about the permissibility of strikes on Russian territory using American weapons, said:
“It's not a matter of geography. It's a matter of common sense. If Russia is attacking or intending to attack Ukraine from its territory, then it makes sense to allow Ukraine to retaliate against the forces that attack it across the border.”
At the end of May, against the backdrop of intensifying Russian attacks on the Kharkov region, a number of Western countries allowed Ukraine, defending itself from the Russian invasion, to use the weapons they provided to attack military targets on Russian territory.
In response, Moscow threatened the United States with “fatal consequences” for decisions regarding Ukraine’s use of American weapons provided to it. Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the possibility of an “asymmetric response” to the West.
US and Ukrainian Presidents Joe Biden and Vladimir Zelensky On June 13, during the G7 summit, where the Ukrainian leader was also invited, signed a bilateral security agreement for 10 years. It does not include US commitments to send American troops to defend Ukraine and does not contain any financial obligations from Washington to Kiev. However, it states that In the event of an armed attack or threat of such an attack on Ukraine, senior US officials will meet with Ukrainian counterparts within 24 hours to discuss the response and supplies needed for Ukraine's defense.
Biden noted that this agreement is one of the steps on Ukraine’s path to the North Atlantic Alliance. Previously, 15 other countries, including Germany, France and the UK, concluded similar security agreements with Ukraine.
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