The US will loosen restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weapons against Russia if it tries to expand the current front line, US Assistant Secretary of State for European Affairs James O’Brien said on Tuesday during a House Foreign Relations Committee hearing.
According to US lawmakers, the White House is now limiting the use of US weapons on Russian territory to within 100 kilometres of the Ukrainian border. O’Brien explained:
“As Jake Sullivan said last week, if Russia tries to expand the front, Ukraine will be allowed to hit targets at longer distances.”
The change in policy on allowing Ukraine to strike targets in Russian territory only came after a new offensive by Russian forces near Kharkiv, Republican Thomas Kean said during a committee hearing.
The demand to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US weapons now has bipartisan support – among both Republicans and Democrats, Republican Joe Wilson noted at the hearing.
The White House has given permission for US weapons strikes on Russian territory to hit military targets, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed on May 31.
China is developing an analogue of the Geranium drone for Russia
While the US grapples with issues about Ukraine’s use of weapons, Chinese and Russian companies are developing a Shahed attack drone, a prototype of the Geranium UAV, Bloomberg reports.
Negotiations to build a copy of the Shahed took place in 2023, following which development and testing of the drone began.
Providing Russia with a Shahed-type strike drone would mean a deepening of Beijing’s support for Russia, despite repeated warnings from the US and its allies.
However, the Chinese authorities say they are not supplying weapons to Russia, emphasised Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese embassy in the US.
