The National Security Adviser to the US President Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Anthony Blinken convinced the American leader Joe Biden in the need to lift the ban on strikes by Ukrainian armed forces deep into Russian territory with the help of weapons supplied by Washington, Politico newspaper reports, citing its sources.
„In the Oval Office, Sullivan stated that Ukraine should be able to use American weapons to repel Russian attacks on Kharkiv,”, the publication said.
According to the publication, Biden's meeting with his national security adviser took place on May 15. It was preceded by a visit of a delegation of Ukrainian parliamentarians to Washington, during which they highlighted the vulnerability of the positions of the armed forces of Ukraine and requested the corresponding permission from the United States.
„The president agreed and instructed Sullivan and the Pentagon to begin work on the changes,”, the material says.
While discussions were taking place at the White House, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken arrived in Kyiv for talks with Ukrainian officials.
After his visit to Ukraine, the Secretary of State met with Biden. During the meeting, Blinken, who spent many years with the president, told him that “Russia took advantage of the president”'s ban.
„The conversation with Blinken on May 17 once again convinced the president that this was the right step”, the publication states.
As reported by interlocutors of the newspaper on the condition of anonymity, Biden's decision was dictated by the fear of Kiev losing Kharkiv with a significant possibility of losing other important territories in eastern Ukraine.
Furthermore, after Russian forces began to advance in the direction of Kharkiv, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin began discussing with his team the “military benefits” from lifting the ban on attacks against Russian targets.
On May 13th, Sullivan, Austin and the head of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Charles Brown held a video call with Volodymyr Zelensky. During it, Zelensky “officially demanded from the White House to remove the restrictions” and at the same time to speed up the delivery of means for anti-tank and anti-aircraft defense.
„After the conversation, Sullivan, Austin and Brown agreed to give Biden a formal recommendation to lift U.S. restrictions,”, the paper summarized.
On Friday, Kiev received a message from the United States about the possibility of using US-supplied weapons for attacks on Russian territory, and Vladimir Zelensky called this a “step forward”.