President Joe Biden recently loosened restrictions on how Ukrainian forces use U.S. military aid, and officials are indicating the rules that remain in place could be lifted in the future.
Russian forces massed along the border near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv and were able to attack the city aerially while remaining in a sanctuary of sorts because Ukraine did not have U.S. approval, before recently, to use U.S. weapons to hit those targets on the other side of the border.
With Biden’s policy change, which the administration acknowledged on Friday, Ukraine can use U.S. weapons for “counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them,” a State Department spokesman told the Washington Examiner.
White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Monday: “As the war has evolved, the battlefield conditions have changed. We have evolved, and we have changed our support to Ukraine. And that’s I wouldn’t expect that general approach is going to be any different in coming weeks and months.”
Ukraine, however, is not allowed to use U.S. weapons to hit targets deeper into Russia.
“We don’t support long-range strike capabilities into Russia, but yes, like, ammunition, HIMARS, things like that. When it comes to that cross-border region, that is some of the focus of the policy change,” Pentagon deputy spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Monday. “I mean, what we saw and what we — I think I want to say around early March, we saw Russian forces continue to maneuver around Kharkiv and create these buffer zones. So those are the type of capabilities that would be useful there.”
President Volodymyr Zelensky is hoping the president will lift the remaining restrictions quickly.
“Is that sufficient? No. Why? Because I have given you the example of airfields from which Russia is permanently firing, in calm, knowing that Ukraine will not fire back because it has no corresponding systems and no permissions,” Zelensky said over the weekend in Singapore on the margins of the Shangri-La Dialogue.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken also hinted that the administration may allow Ukraine to hit targets beyond the current limitation in the future: “Going forward, we’ll continue to do what we’ve been doing, which is, as necessary, adapt and adjust.”
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov recently said: “I would like to caution American officials against miscalculations which may have fatal consequences. For some unknown reason, they underestimate the seriousness of the rebuff they may receive.”
The United States was one of several Ukrainian allies that have recently lifted some of the restrictions they had put in place due to concerns of potentially escalating the conflict.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin met with Zelensky in Singapore.
“Secretary Austin provided an update on U.S. security assistance to meet Ukraine’s capability needs and reaffirmed the U.S. commitment to maintaining the strong support of a coalition of over fifty countries to help Ukraine defend its freedom,” Pentagon spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said in a statement.
Ukraine’s allies are continuing their conversations about how to provide the country with additional support.
U.S. Ambassador to NATO Julianne Smith told reporters on Monday that NATO is not actively considering putting trainers in Ukraine, though individual countries have discussed the possibility.
“There is this question on the table right now that’s a live debate, to what extent should NATO take on not the training itself, but just to serve as a coordinating body to be that one connective line back to Kyiv,” she said during a Defense Writers Group event.
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The alliance will host its summit next month in Washington, where member countries will celebrate 75 years of NATO. Zelensky is expected to attend as well, according to Smith.
Smith outlined three main points for the summit: 1.) marking the anniversary, 2.) highlighting improved burden-sharing from members, and 3.) Ukraine.
“I do not expect allies to be putting a proper invitation on the table next month in July. What I do anticipate is that allies will be putting forward a whole package of deliverables that will serve as a bridge to their membership inside the alliance,” she said.
Between 20-23 of NATO’s 32 members are expected to reach the alliance’s required 2% GDP spending on defense, which is a drastic improvement from several years earlier, Smith added.