Ukrainian parliament member Yehor Cherniev confirmed that U.S.-made High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) have hit Russian logistics and artillery locations inside of Russia near Ukraine’s northeast region of Kharkiv, where Moscow is conducting an offensive.
“We have already achieved some success and forced the Russians to stop shelling the city,” said Cherniev, the deputy chairman of the Committee on National Security, Defense and Intelligence in Ukraine’s parliament, in a text message. “Also, thanks to the HIMARS strikes, we managed to reduce the offensive potential of Russian troops in this area.”
The Biden administration last week announced a change in policy to allow Ukraine to strike inside of Russia from the region of Kharkiv.
The reversal was only partial, allowing for strikes in Russia from Kharkiv, where Russian forces are pressing forward in a major offensive. Ukraine is also prohibited from using the U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) or long-range artillery to hit Russia, and from hitting civilian infrastructure.
Cherniev said Russia is still bombing Ukraine with guided bombs and pressed for more “air defense systems and permission from the United States to fire ATACMS missiles at Russian military airfields.”
Cherniev and other Ukrainian lawmakers had asked Washington to reverse the policy after Russia launched the Kharkiv offensive in May.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and other government officials in Kyiv also pushed the Biden administration on the issue, which Washington had in place to avoid escalation with Russia as Moscow continues to rattle the nuclear saber.
Asked Tuesday if Ukraine using U.S. weapons inside of Russia has helped to beat back Russia’s advance, Jake Sullivan, the White House national security advisor, said it was a “dynamic situation.”
Read the full report at TheHill.com.
