What will happen next? The United States may have given Ukraine greater freedom to strike Russia Ukrainian Army | Biden | Ukrainian side

According to CCTV News, the US government may have relaxed the scope of the Ukrainian army's use of US weapons to strike Russian targets. Previously, this strike range was limited to the vicinity of the Kharkiv region.

This indicates that the United States intends to "lift the ban" on Ukraine again. However, while providing Ukraine with greater operational freedom, this move will increase the possibility of an accidental conflict between the West and Russia.

Recently, statements by a number of US national security officials have signaled that the Ukrainian military will relax the scope of its attacks on Russian targets.

US President’s National Security Advisor Sullivan recently stated that the agreement previously reached between the United States and Ukraine applies to all places where Russian troops have launched or are preparing to launch an attack on Ukraine.

Sullivan added that this applies to the air level. Ukraine can use the US-provided air defense system to fire at Russian aircraft that launch air strikes or prepare to launch air strikes against Ukraine, "even if these aircraft are in Russian airspace."

This means that the Ukrainian army can use weapons provided by the United States to attack "targets" within Ukraine and Russia.

Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder and Major Charlie Dietz made similar statements recently.

This is seen as another major shift in the US position of providing "limited" support to Ukraine.

Previously, the United States disagreed with Ukraine's use of American-made weapons to attack targets within Russia, fearing that the conflict would further escalate.

But U.S. officials confirmed on May 30 that U.S. President Biden has agreed to Ukraine's use of U.S.-made weapons to attack targets within Russia, but with conditions - limited to Russian troops that are close to Ukraine's second largest city, Kharkiv, and have launched or are preparing to launch an attack on the city.

At that time, US officials also stated that the United States would still not allow Ukraine to use US-made long-range missiles to attack targets deep within Russian territory.

So why does the United States repeatedly "loosen the reins" on Ukraine?

Judging from the battlefield situation, Ukraine has been calling on Western countries to allow Ukraine to use foreign-aided weapons to attack targets within Russia.

Recently, the Russian army launched an offensive against Kharkov and gained the upper hand on the battlefield.

Against this background, US and Ukrainian military officials held a video conference on May 13, at which Ukrainian officials urged the US to "loosen" restrictions on the use of weapons and allow strikes on targets in Russian territory near Kharkiv, and Biden subsequently agreed.

From the perspective of external forces, after the Ukrainian crisis escalated in February 2022, the United States and its Western allies abandoned their existing positions.

NATO Secretary General Stoltenberg, French President Emmanuel Macron, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron, and officials from Sweden, Norway, Finland and other countries all support Ukraine's use of Western-aided weapons to strike targets in Russia. Germany once expressed opposition, but a German government spokesman said on May 31 that Germany had changed its position.

However, Italian Foreign Minister Tajani reiterated on May 31 that Italy opposes Ukraine's use of Italian-aided weapons to attack targets in Russia, and that Italy will not send troops into Ukraine to help in the war.

There have been recent reports that some European allies are increasing pressure on the Biden administration to further "loosen" restrictions on the use of weapons by the Ukrainian military. The relevant topic was discussed at the Ukrainian Defense Contact Group meeting and the NATO Defense Ministers' Meeting held in Brussels, Belgium last week.

In addition, there are reports that in the United States, more and more Democrats are also interested in the idea of ​​"loosening".

Under these pressures, it seems difficult for Biden to stick to his past positions.

First, the Ukrainian army will have greater freedom and flexibility in combat operations.

After Biden "nod" at the end of May, Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Irina Vereschuk said on June 3 that the Ukrainian army used Western-aid weapons for the first time to attack targets in Russia and destroyed a Russian S-300 air defense missile system.

Secondly, this move marks another "lifting of the ban" by the United States on the Ukrainian crisis.

During the NATO Defense Ministers' Meeting last week, a senior U.S. Department of Defense official revealed to the media that the United States has given the green light on several policy issues that it was reluctant to approve before. For example, Biden and other U.S. officials had repeatedly publicly opposed providing F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, but "relaxed" in May last year. In addition, the United States has successively provided Ukraine with advanced weapons such as the Patriot air defense system and the HIMARS multiple rocket launcher system.

This inevitably makes people wonder what the next step will be for the United States to continue to "loosen up"?

"Don't be too absolute," said the U.S. Defense Department official.

But U.S. officials also acknowledged that Washington has repeatedly failed to respond to Ukraine's demands since the escalation of the Ukrainian crisis, often not giving in until the last minute.

In addition, the possibility of accidental conflict between the West and Russia increases.

Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on May 28 that some Western countries' proposal to allow Ukraine to use foreign-supplied weapons to attack targets within Russia is "playing with fire" and will lead to "serious consequences."

On June 5, Putin warned again that if the West allowed Ukraine to use more powerful weapons to attack Russia, it would be a "serious escalation" that would drag the West into a war with Russia.

Russian presidential press secretary Peskov said on May 31 that Ukraine "has been trying to attack Russian territory with American-made weapons...which fully demonstrates the extent of the United States' involvement in this conflict."

Peskov also said that belligerence in European countries is rising and has reached the level of "pre-war fanaticism."

The growing tension between NATO and Russia has caused concern among leaders of NATO member states such as Hungary.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said recently that the idea of ​​allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to attack targets in Russia and sending Western military personnel to Ukraine is bringing NATO "closer and closer to war."