NATO Debates Arming Ukraine for Strikes on Russian Soil

NATO members are debating whether to allow Ukraine to use Western weapons to retaliate against Russian forces targeting its second-largest city. Germany and the US have changed their policies to allow Kyiv to use their weapons for defensive strikes near the border.

Western powers are debating whether to provide Ukraine with weapons that can be used for strikes on Russian soil, a move that could further escalate tensions in the war.

Ukraine has been struggling to repel Russian advances in the northeastern Kharkiv region, home to the country's second-largest city. Germany and the US have now authorized Ukraine to use their weapons against Russian forces attacking from just over the border.

The German government said Friday that Ukraine can use German-supplied weapons against Russian attacks from positions just over their joint border. A day earlier, US President Joe Biden allowed Kyiv to strike back with American weapons at Russian military assets targeting Kharkiv.

The policy change came after a Russian onslaught this month in the Kharkiv region, including a Russian aerial bomb attack on a construction supplies store that killed 18 people on May 25. The attacks forced the evacuation of thousands of people and stretched Ukraine's depleted forces.

While the US and Germany have loosened restrictions on the use of their weapons, they have emphasized that Ukraine is still not permitted to use them for offensive strikes inside Russia.

"The US policy calling on Ukraine not to use American-provided ATACMS or long-range missiles and other munitions to strike offensively inside Russia has not changed," a Washington official told The Associated Press.

The German announcement came hours after Russian ballistic missiles slammed into an apartment block in Kharkiv, killing at least four people. Ukraine's air force said Russia launched five S-300/S-400 ballistic missiles overnight, with one striking a residential building and another targeting first responders.

Ukrainian officials have previously accused Russia of deliberately targeting rescue workers by hitting residential buildings with two consecutive missiles. The tactic, known as a "double tap," was also used by Russia in Syria's civil war.

Apart from Kharkiv, Moscow's troops are pressing in the Donetsk region and assembling a force for an expected attack in the Sumy region, according to Ukrainian officials.

The restrictions until now on the use of Western weapons have frustrated Ukrainian officials, who have been unable to order hits on Russian troops massing across the border or Russian bases used to launch missile attacks.

The question of whether to allow Ukraine to hit targets on Russian soil has been a sensitive issue since Moscow launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, 2022. Western leaders hesitated to take the step due to the risk of provoking Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has repeatedly threatened nuclear conflict if the West becomes directly involved.

However, as Russia has gained the battlefield initiative in some parts of the war, some Western leaders are pushing for a policy change allowing Kyiv to strike military bases inside Russia with sophisticated long-range weapons supplied by its Western partners.