US mulls letting Ukraine hit targets in Russia

Ukraine fires U.S.-provided HIMARS at Russian target

Kyiv's "right to self-defense includes hitting legitimate targets outside Ukraine"

(Image credit: Serhii Mykhalchuk / Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

published 30 May 2024

What happened

The Biden administration is considering urgent requests to allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike targets inside Russia, especially sites near Ukraine's northeast border that Russia uses to rain missiles and aerial bombs on Kharkiv and the troops defending it.

Who said what

Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Wednesday that the U.S. hasn't "encouraged or enabled strikes outside of Ukraine," but will "adapt and adjust" its stance as need arises.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Monday that Kyiv's "right to self-defense includes hitting legitimate targets outside Ukraine," and French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday endorsed letting Ukraine "neutralize" Russian "military sites from which the missiles are fired." Canada, Britain and America's other NATO allies have already said "they have no problem with Ukraine's using their weapons to hit Russia," Politico said.

What next?

Some of President Joe Biden's advisers believe a reversal of the U.S. ban is "inevitable," with "severe restrictions" on hitting targets deep inside Russia, The New York Times said. Biden "mostly likely will never announce" the shift, but "American artillery shells and missiles will just start landing on Russian military targets."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.