Secretary Blinken confirms Ukraine can use U.S. weapons in Russia

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday confirmed that the Biden administration had told Ukrainian forces they could use U.S. weapons for limited attacks on certain targets inside Russia. U.S. policy toward Ukraine has adapted to changing battlefield conditions, Blinken said. Ukrainian officials had requested the ability to use the weapons against Russian forces massing in Russia, near its border with the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. Those troops were preparing to strike targets inside Ukraine, he added.

Did Blinken say anything else about the situation in Ukraine? NATO officials will hold a summit in Washington, D.C., in July, he said. At that summit, alliance members will work toward fast-tracking Ukraine’s inclusion into NATO. Blinken characterized the alliance as bigger—it has taken on Sweden and Finland as members since Russia invaded Ukraine—and stronger than ever.

What does the Kremlin say about the use of U.S. weapons against targets inside Russia? Any U.S. or European forces or specialists who are operating weapons systems that attack targets inside Russia will be considered fair game for counterattacks, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on Friday. The forces do not have to be inside Ukraine, either, Russian state media reported. If forces in other countries attack targets inside Russia, Russian troops will destroy them and their weapons, Medvedev said.

Dig deeper: Listen to Leo Briceno’s and Carolina Lumetta’s report on The World and Everything in It podcast about how aid for Ukraine cleared the House of Representatives recently, but lawmakers couldn’t agree on artificial intelligence regulations.