The United States has granted Ukraine permission to use American weapons during the operation in the Kursk region of Russia. This was stated by Deputy Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh during a briefing, Komersant ukrainskyi
reports
“We are beginning to better understand what the Ukrainians are doing in Kursk. Our policy allows them to engage in such counterattacks. We support Ukraine in what it needs on the battlefield, this will not change,” she said.
Singh added that Washington’s policy “allows Ukraine to return fire to defend itself against Russian attacks from the border region, which includes the Kursk region.
“They are protecting themselves from Russian attacks within that region,” she explained.
At the same time, she noted that the United States still does not know the goals of the Ukrainian operation in the Kursk region and recalled that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously said that the offensive was intended to create a buffer zone.
The official acknowledged that the Pentagon has questions about how the Kursk operation fits into the “strategic battlefield objectives” for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, and noted that creating a buffer zone would mean building several defence lines.
Singh announced the US plans to provide Ukraine with new defence assistance packages, but did not provide details.
As previously reported, John Kirby, Strategic Communications Coordinator for the US National Security Council, stressed that the US will not lift restrictions on the Ukrainian military to strike Russia with US weapons.
Asked by journalists whether the US plans to ease restrictions after the Russian attack on the National Children’s Specialised Hospital “Okhmatdyt” in Kyiv, Kirby said that US policy has not changed: Ukraine can continue to use US weapons for strikes near the border with Russia.
As a reminder, in May, the Biden administration gave Ukraine permission to conduct strikes inside Russia using US-supplied weapons.
However, while the US policy of allowing Ukraine to fire certain types of US weapons into Russian territory has led to a reduction in Russian attacks, it still limits the range to the extent that it prevents Ukraine from hitting key airfields.