Ukraine's military is allowed to use US long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside Russia, not just near the front lines near Kharkiv, if it does so in self-defense, the Pentagon said on June 21.
A few weeks ago, American President Joseph Biden gave Ukraine permission to use ammunition supplied by the United States of America (USA) to defend the eastern city of Kharkiv against Russian missile attacks.
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in 2022, the US has maintained that Kiev will not use American weapons to attack targets inside Russia, fearing that could escalate the war.
Russia is launching strikes against Ukrainian targets inside its borders, treating its territory as a "security zone," Pentagon press secretary Pat Ryder said.
"As we see these forces conducting such operations from their territory, we have explained that Ukraine can and has the right to respond in order to defend itself," Ryder told reporters.
The Pentagon also announced that this is not a new position in its weapons policy.
"This is not about geography. It's about logic. If Russia is attacking or trying to attack Ukraine from its territory, then it makes sense to allow Ukraine to respond against forces that attack it across the border," he said.
A day earlier, the White House said it would speed up the supply of air defense missiles to Ukraine by sending them on scheduled deliveries to other allied countries.
The decision means that shipments of "missiles coming off the assembly line" will go to Ukraine and not to other planned locations.
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