(PatriotWise.com) — The consensus within the Biden administration over its policy prohibiting Ukraine from using US-supplied weapons to fire on Russian territory is beginning to fray as State Department officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken, have called for allowing Ukraine’s military to target artillery and missile launch sites within Russia.
A group of Ukrainian lawmakers asked the administration to lift its restrictive policy while visiting Washington in mid-May, arguing that the restriction was preventing Ukraine from striking targets within Russia.
Moscow, well aware of the Biden administration’s conditions on aid, was able to amass 30,000 troops and equipment along the Russian border without the fear of being targeted by the same US-supplied long-range tactical missiles that Ukraine has used to great effect against Russian forces within its country.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken proposed relaxing the restrictions after his May 14 visit to Kyiv. However, it is unclear how many Biden officials have signed on to the proposal or if the president has been briefed.
According to sources involved in the discussions, Blinken revisited his position on the ban after Russia launched its new devastating offensive in northeastern Ukraine, which has come under heavy bombardment from positions just over the border in Russia.
In a recent interview, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the US restrictions on firing on targets in Russia have given Moscow a “huge advantage.”
While Ukraine has been launching attacks on Russian oil and electricity plants for months using Ukrainian-made drones, the drones lack the speed and power of US-made weapons and have been increasingly shot down thanks to Russia’s superior electronic warfare systems.
The UK has already lifted a similar ban, allowing Ukraine to use its “Storm Shadow” cruise missile systems to strike Russia. Foreign Secretary David Cameron said in a visit to Kyiv earlier this month that Ukraine had an absolute “right to strike back at Russia.”
Former State Department official Victoria Nuland, who stepped down last month, has also come out in support of lifting the restriction, saying in an interview last Sunday that it was time to allow Ukraine to hit back at the Russian bases where the attacks on Kharkiv are launched, saying the bases should “be fair game.”
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