US President Joe Biden has instructed his team of security experts to change the guidelines for the use of US weapons by Ukraine to strike military targets on Russian territory so that the authorization does not refers to the use of ATAKMS long-range tactical missiles, Michael Carpenter, director for Europe at the National Security Council at the White House, said in an interview with Ukrinform, quoted by BTA.
"This is happening in the context of the Russian offensive in the Kharkiv region, after which the Ukrainian side came to us and asked for permission to strike targets in Russia, from where Ukrainian positions, villages and cities are being shelled,” added Carpenter.
He stressed that Biden, as soon as he received the request from Kiev, "directed his national security team to change the guidelines to allow for such counterstrikes.
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Carpenter called it a "direct response," which provides an opportunity for cross-border counterstrikes. However, he specified that the decision was aimed at halting the Russian offensive and "does not apply to ATAKMS or long-range strikes.
Yesterday, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken officially confirmed that President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission to strike military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation with US weapons, Ukrinform notes.