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U.S. President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permission to use U.S.-supplied weapons to strike targets in Russia, but only near the Kharkiv region, U.S. officials said.
One soldier told BBC News that his troops had been instructed to make US weapons available for “counter-fire purposes” to Ukraine to “respond if Russian forces are attacking or preparing to attack”.
Russian forces have launched surprise attacks in areas close to the Russian border in recent weeks and have expanded their presence in the Kharkiv area.
Ukrainian authorities said on Friday that Russian forces had shelled a house on the outskirts of the city of Kharkiv, killing three people and wounding 16.
“Our policy regarding the prohibition on the use of Army tactical missile systems is [ATACMS] Or long-range attacks into Russia remain unchanged.”
When asked by the BBC’s US partner CBS whether the new policy included attacking Russian planes, the official replied: “We’ve never said anything like that to them. [Ukraine] “We cannot shoot down an attacking Russian plane over Russian territory.”
The White House and State Department have not yet commented.
Britain had earlier suggested it was ready to ease restrictions on how Ukraine could use weapons supplied by Western countries.
European leaders have also recently called for relaxing restrictions on the use of such weapons, despite concerns that such developments could lead to further escalation of the conflict.
But the United States, which supplies most of Ukraine’s arms, has resisted easing those restrictions, fearing increased tensions.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken hinted at the change during a visit to Moldova on Wednesday.
“Every step of the way, we’ve adapted and adjusted as needed,” he said.
“And that’s exactly what we’ll be doing going forward.”
Russian forces appear to have seized the opportunity recently to push deeper into Ukrainian territory in Kharkiv as Kyiv waits for more Western weaponry to arrive on the front lines.
Early on Friday, Kharkiv Oblast Governor Oleh Sinyekhbov said in a Telegram message that Russian artillery fire had hit a five-story apartment building in the Novo-Bavarsky district of Kharkiv, destroying part of the building and causing a fire.
At least three people were killed and 16 were injured, including a 12-year-old boy and a 12-year-old girl, both of whom were taken to hospital.
Ukrainian officials accused Russian forces of targeting “exclusively civilian infrastructure” and using “double-attack tactics”, launching a second attack after emergency and rescue workers had arrived.
