U.S. President Joe Biden instructed his security team to change the guidance regarding the use of American weapons by Ukraine for hitting military targets on Russian soil, but this does not apply to ATACMS.
This was stated in an interview with Ukrinform by Senior Director for Europe at the U.S. National Security Council, Michael Carpenter.
“This comes in the context of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, after which the Ukrainian side came to us and asked for permission to be able to strike targets in Russia that were firing against Ukrainian positions, Ukrainian villages, and towns,” Carpenter noted.
He emphasized that President Biden, immediately upon receiving a request from Ukraine “directed his national security team to change the guidance to enable these sorts of counter-strikes.”
Carpenter called it a “direct response” that provides a cross-border counter-fire capability.
However, the official added, the decision is aimed at disrupting the Russian offensive and “does not apply to ATACMS or long-range strikes.”
As Ukrinform reported earlier, on Friday U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken officially confirmed that President Joe Biden had given permission for Ukraine to strike military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation with American weapons. At the same time, he stopped short of disclosing any details of the permit.
