Kyiv persuaded Washington to fire US weapons into Russian territory
A delegation of Ukrainian lawmakers traveled to the United States last week to lobby Washington to authorize the use of aid weapons such as HIMARS artillery strikes on Russian territory.
A delegation of Ukrainian lawmakers was in Washington last week with plans to persuade officials and members of the U.S. House of Representatives to reverse a ban on using Pentagon-donated weapons to strike targets inside Russia, Hill revealed on May 19.
Ukrainian officials say Russia's advance in Kharkiv would not have succeeded if it had been able to use U.S.-donated long-range weapons to preemptively strike Russian forces massed in Belgorod Oblast.
David Arahamiya, head of the U.S. relations committee in Ukraine's parliament, called the ban on the use of U.S. weapons to strike Russian territory "crazy." He said Ukraine's military leadership "is unable to understand this position and is urging politicians to persuade the White House to change its position."
Oleksandra Ustinova, a member of Ukraine's parliament on the delegation to the United States, warned that Kharkiv was at risk of becoming a second Mariupol if Washington did not change the conditions of its arms aid.
"We are not allowed to fire at Russian weapons that are massing on the border right now. Ukraine risks losing more major cities and territory. The Russians know full well that we are being constrained in our actions," she said.
Although Ukraine has not publicly acknowledged that Ukraine has carried out numerous strikes on oil refineries and transport infrastructure on Russian territory, it mainly uses home-made weapons, not long-range missiles and rockets delivered by the United States.
However, Ukrainian military officials say the tactic of hitting the Russian rear would have been even more effective if they had been allowed to use powerful weapons such as HIMARS rocket artillery and ATACMS long-range missiles.
Maksym Skrypchenko, director of Ukraine's Transatlantic Dialogue Center, said the Russian military had moved command posts into the territory, which is out of range of HIMARS artillery
"The enemy is absolutely safe. Whenever the situation becomes difficult, they can easily withdraw to territory, reorganize their forces and launch a new offensive. Ukraine cannot pursue with highly effective weapons like ATACMS," Skrypchenko said.
According to the expert in Kyiv, the Ukrainian military will have a chance to improve the situation if it is allowed to use weapons such as Stinger shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles in Russian territory, threatening Russian bombers in missions to strike Ukrainian cities and defensive positions at the border.
"If there are more F-16s, this tactic has the opportunity to change the situation, preventing Russia from expanding its control in many areas," he said
Washington has so far insisted that Kiev refrain from using U.S.-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory. During a visit to Kyiv last week, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated that Ukraine needs to focus on regaining control of territory rather than expanding the size of the conflict.
Some Republicans, such as Rick Scott and Mike Rounds, both members of the Senate Armed Services Committee, argued that Ukraine should be allowed to use aid weapons at its discretion to win, as long as it does not target civilians.
Congressman Mark Kelly, a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, stressed Washington's stance to "prevent the conflict from spreading outside Ukraine," calling on Kyiv to "find ways to improve the situation" without resorting to U.S. weapons.
Senator Tammy Duckworth said the U.S. should keep the restrictions in place until Ukraine makes clear what weapons it wants to use and what options it wants to use in its target to strike Russian territory.
