US permits Ukraine to use HIMARS missiles for strikes on Russian territory
The United States has authorized the deployment of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers to carry out strikes on Russian territory. These systems will help combat the Russian forces concentrated near the border, a spokesman for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine awaits the "green light" from the US to employ long-range weapons deep within Russian territory. For now, they have secured permission to use a limited arsenal to protect border areas suffering from Russian shelling and offensives. Nonetheless, this decision will aid the Ukrainian Forces in holding back Russian assault actions, said Presidential Spokesman Serhiy Nikiforov, as reported by The Guardian.
The President’s representative confirmed the US decision to allow the use of American weapons, while emphasizing that several restrictions must be observed. Thanks to this decision by President Joe Biden's administration, the Ukrainian Forces will be able to slow down the offensive actions of Russian Armed Forces.
"This will significantly bolster our capacity to resist Russian attempts to massively cross the border," he told The Guardian.
The report detailed two conditions under which Ukraine is permitted to conduct strikes on Russian territory:
1. Use of HIMARS multiple rocket launchers exclusively.
2. Targeting only live forces and military equipment of Russian Armed Forces involved in the Kharkiv offensive.
There are no additional comments regarding the lifting of the ban on strikes in Russia on President Volodymyr Zelensky's official page or on Sergiy Nikiforov's Facebook page.
Meanwhile, 11 countries have already permitted the use of their weapons for strikes on Russian territory. Sweden was the first of these nations , providing the Ukrainian Armed Forces with Archer self-propelled artillery systems, which have a range of up to 60 km, sufficient to reach Belgorod. Additionally, relevant decisions have been made by two nuclear-armed states — France and the USA.
Western media have covered this development, citing anonymous sources within the White House, despite US Secretary of State Antony Blinken repeatedly stating that such authorization would not be granted. German news outlet Bild published a map showing the potential reach of Western weapons if the ban is lifted. The map indicates that the existing armaments do not, for instance, reach the Engels airfield from which Russian aircraft launch Kinzhal and Kh-101 missiles.
Concurrently, the US emphasized that it has not altered its decision on the use of American-made long-range weapons to reach behind Russian lines — as stated by the Pentagon on May 30. On the same day, White House sources asserted their opposition to strikes on strategic Russian targets, such as over-the-horizon radars, which drones had targeted between May 23 and 26.
In May 31, Deputy Chairman of Russia’s Security Council Dmitry Medvedev, who is also a former Russian president, issued a nuclear threat to NATO countries supplying weapons to Ukraine.