WP: Ukraine allowed to strike Russia with US weapons to a depth of no more than 100km
This 100-kilometre zone does not include key Russian air bases from which aircraft carrying guided bombs take off
The United States has limited the depth of use of US weapons on Russian territory to 100 km from the Russian-Ukrainian border.
Source. This was reported by the Washington Post, citing two Ukrainian officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Earlier on Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Charlie Dietz explained that the United States had given Kyiv permission to use American weapons for retaliatory strikes on Russian territory where the Russian army attempts to invade Ukraine.
This includes permission to use American air defences to shoot down Russian aircraft that are in Russian airspace but are about to attack Ukrainian territory, Dietz added.
"It's not a matter of geography or a certain radius [of weapons use], it's a matter of common sense," Dietz said. "If Russia is attacking Ukraine from across the border, then Ukraine should be able to retaliate against the targets that are attacking it from across the border.
However, this 100-kilometre zone does not include key Russian air bases from which aircraft carrying guided bombs take off – they now pose the greatest danger to both military and civilians, according to Washington Post sources.
The ban on the use of US weapons for strikes on Russian territory, which had been in place for two years, allowed Russia to create a protected zone from which it shelled Ukraine's border areas, the newspaper reminds.
The permission received three weeks ago "has definitely changed the situation, especially right on the front line," the Washington Post quoted a source in Ukrainian military circles as saying.
In particular, the situation was affected by the destruction of Russian S-300/S-400 systems near the border with the help of American HIMARS. The rocket attacks on Kharkiv stopped after that, the newspaper quoted the city's mayor, Igor Terekhov, as saying.
Background. The day before, Pentagon spokesman Major General Patrick Ryder said that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could use American weapons throughout the territory of Russia. Earlier, Jake Sullivan expressed the same opinion, calling it "common sense".
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