US Secretary of State Blinken testifies before Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Photo: EPA-EFE/WILL OLIVER
Washington is considering revising the current ban it has in place prohibiting Ukraine from launching attacks on Russian territory using US-supplied weapons, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
The move was proposed by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken after he made a visit to Kyiv last week that he described as “sobering”, according to the report, which said that the proposal was part of a larger report that Blinken was yet to submit to US President Joe Biden.
Blinken’s position reportedly changed following the opening of a “devastating” new front in the Kharkiv region of eastern Ukraine. Knowing the US ban meant Ukraine would only be able to retaliate with non-US supplied weapons, the Russian military has reportedly stationed weapons systems in close proximity to the Ukrainian border and has been using them to bombard the city of Kharkiv.
In recent months the Armed Forces of Ukraine have mostly used Ukrainian-made drones to strike targets within Russia, The New York Times reported, adding that Russian air defence systems were shooting them down in ever increasing numbers, thanks to improved electronic warfare systems.
In light of the worsening situation in Ukraine, 13 members of the US Congress issued an appeal to US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin on Monday asking him to revise the ban and allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike Russia. They also called for more aid to Ukraine and for additional training programmes to teach Ukrainian servicemen to fly F-16 fighter jets.
