John Kirby, coordinator for strategic Communications at the White House National Security Council, said that his country is making adjustments to its policy on Ukraine as conditions on the battlefield change
WASHINGTON, June 3. /tass/. The United States is making adjustments to its policy on Ukraine, including the use of American weapons, as conditions on the battlefield change. This was stated to reporters by John Kirby, coordinator for strategic communications at the White House National Security Council.
"I won't be ahead of the decision-making, but <...> during the course of this war, the conditions on the battlefield changed. We have changed and changed our approach in supporting Ukraine, and I do not expect this approach to change in the coming weeks and months. Let's see how the situation develops," Kirby said, answering a question about whether the White House will decide on a possible expansion of the area of strikes against the Russian Federation with American weapons.
"Of course, we will discuss this with Ukrainians. I cannot say now whether this will lead to any additional changes in the policy [on the use of American weapons]," the White House spokesman added. Kirby assured that the United States is not going to abandon its support for Ukraine.
The representative of the White House recalled that Washington did not allow the use of American tactical ballistic missiles ATACMS to strike at the territory of the Russian Federation. "Our policy regarding the prohibition of the use of ATACMS <...> the response to long-range strikes inside Russia has not changed," he said.
Washington's decisions and Moscow's reaction
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken confirmed on May 31 that President Joe Biden had agreed to American weapons strikes on Russian territory. As Blinken claimed, we are talking only about the regions of Russia near Kharkov. At the same time, however, he did not rule out that the range of attacks by American weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation would increase. The Cabinet of Ministers of Germany stated that German weapons can be used "to protect against attacks" by Russia in the Kharkiv region. However, there is currently no unity among Western countries on the issue of restrictions on the use of their weapons in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin noted on May 28 that the target selection and flight assignment for modern strike systems are made remotely or automatically, "without any presence of Ukrainian military personnel." This is done by those who produce and supply shock systems to Ukraine, Putin stressed. He warned that NATO countries should "be aware of what they are playing with." Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council Dmitry Medvedev indicated on May 31 that all long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine are already "directly controlled by NATO military personnel" and such actions may be a reason for retaliation strikes.
As The Wall Street Journal reported on May 31, citing sources, the US administration geographically limited the use of American weapons against Russia so that the conflict in Ukraine would not escalate into a direct clash between Washington and Moscow. According to this information, the United States approved the use of GMLRS missiles, HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems and artillery systems "at command posts, weapons depots and other facilities on Russian territory that are used to conduct an offensive" in the Kharkiv direction. At the same time, the US authorities banned "the use of longer-range surface-to-surface missiles ATACMS [for strikes] on Russian territory," the publication clarified.
