The U.S. Department of State, under the leadership of Antony Blinken, is working on a proposal to loosen the ban on Ukraine's use of American weapons to strike targets in russian territory, New York Times reports.
The initiative of the U.S. Department of State led to active discussions in the administration of Joe Biden about the possibility of allowing Ukraine to attack missile and artillery installations located near the border with russia. According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, these installations contributed to Moscow's recent territorial successes.
The proposal, which has been championed by Secretary of State Antony Blinken since his visit to Kyiv last week, is still under development. It is not known how many of his colleagues in the Biden administration support it. The document has not yet been officially presented to the president, who traditionally takes a cautious position.
Department of State spokesperson Matthew Miller declined to comment on internal discussions about Ukrainian politics and Blinken's report after he returned from Kyiv.
According to officials involved in the discussions, Blinken's position changed due to the opening of a new front in the war by the russians, which led to devastating consequences. Russian forces placed weapons just outside the border with northeastern Ukraine and aimed them at Kharkiv, knowing that the Ukrainians could only use non-U.S. drones and other weapons to retaliate.
For several months, Ukraine has been carrying out attacks on russian ships, oil facilities, and power plants, mostly with the help of its own drones, which do not have the power and speed of American weapons. More often, the russians shoot down Ukrainian drones and missiles or send them off course using advanced electronic warfare techniques.
Pressure is mounting on the United States to help Ukraine attack russian military targets, even if Washington wants to maintain a ban on attacks on oil refineries and other russian infrastructure using U.S. weapons. Britain, which usually acts in sync with Washington on military matters, has quietly lifted its restrictions, allowing the use of Storm Shadow cruise missiles for a wider range of targets in russia.
A change in approach may also affect further training of Ukrainian soldiers. Until now, they trained on Western weapons in Germany, but the United States is considering sending its troops to Ukraine for training, which Biden previously prohibited.
As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, the head of the Pentagon previously criticized Ukraine's strikes on russian refineries.
Meanwhile, a group of Ukrainian people's deputies arrived in Washington with the aim of trying to get consent from the U.S. authorities to use American weapons to launch strikes on the territory of russia.
Ukraine's Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova did not publicly discuss at what stage Ukraine is in discussions with the United States or other partners on this issue.
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