WASHINGTON (AP) 鈥� President Joe Biden has given Ukraine the go-ahead to use American weaponry to strike inside Russia for the limited purpose of defending Kharkiv, according to two U.S. officials familiar with the matter.
The officials, who requested anonymity to discuss the sensitive matter, underscored that the U.S. policy calling on Ukraine not to use American-provide long-range missiles and other munitions to strike inside Russia offensively has not changed.
The move comes as Ukrainian officials have stepped up calls on the U.S. administration to allow its forces to defend itself against attacks originating from Russian territory. Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, is just 20 kilometers (12 miles) from the Russian border.
Biden's decision was first reported by Politico.
Ukrainian officials, most notably Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, have been increasingly vocal in making the case that the restriction was putting Ukrainian forces in an untenable situation as around the northeast Kharkiv region.
The advances came with Russia exploiting a lengthy delay in replenishment of U.S. military aid and as Western Europe鈥檚 inadequate military production has slowed crucial deliveries to the battlefield for Ukraine.
But since the start of the Russian invasion in February 2022, Biden has been steadfast in his opposition to the Ukrainians using American-made weaponry offensively out of concern that the action could be seen as provocative and lead to Moscow widening the war.
The decision comes Secretary of State on Thursday assailed Russian attempts to sow discord in democracies with misinformation after hinting the Biden administration may soon allow Ukraine to use American-supplied munitions to strike inside Russia.
With an increasing number of officials saying Ukraine must be able to defend itself by attacking targets in Russian territory, Blinken joined for a meeting in Prague, where he said Moscow鈥檚 use of misinformation and disinformation was a 鈥減oison鈥� and signed an agreement with the Czech government to combat it.
He also toured a Czech military base, where he saw armored vehicles that Prague is sending to Kyiv to help fight and received a briefing on a Czech initiative to supply Ukraine with a million rounds of ammunition by the end of the year.
鈥淲e know that a major front in the competition that we have, the adversarial relationship that we have, notably with Russia, is on the information front,鈥� Blinken said.
He said the agreement with the Czechs 鈥� the 17th such accord the U.S. has signed with partner nations 鈥� would help 鈥渢o effectively deal with misinformation and disinformation, which is a poison 小蓝视频 injected into our democracies by our adversaries.鈥�
"The more we鈥檙e able to do together both between our countries but also with other countries, the more effective we鈥檙e going to be exposing it and dealing with it,鈥� Blinken told reporters at a signing 小蓝视频 with Czech Foreign Minister Minister Jan Lipavsky.
Lipavsky agreed, noting that Czech authorities had recently exposed a major Russian-backed misinformation campaign.
"We are facing confrontation between democracies and autocracies,鈥� Lipavsky said. "The Kremlin has started targeting targeting democracies all around the world with cyber warfare, propaganda and influence operations and this danger simply cannot be underestimated any more.鈥�
At a separate NATO-related event on Thursday, Lipavsky said Ukraine needs resources to counter Russia's relentless assault.
鈥淯kraine cannot fight against Russia with one hand tied behind its back," he said. "Ukraine must be able to fight against Russia鈥檚 barbaric invasion even on Russian territory. Political resolve must be backed by credible capabilities.鈥�
Norway's foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, told Norwegian broadcaster NRK that his country believes Ukraine 鈥渉as a crystal-clear right under international law to attack Russia inside Russia as part of the defense of its territory.鈥�
and support for Ukrainian attempts to repel it will be a major focus of the NATO foreign minister meetings on Thursday and Friday 鈥� the alliance's last major diplomatic gathering before a leaders' summit in Washington in July to mark the 75th anniversary of its founding.
On Wednesday in Moldova, Blinken said that U.S. policy on how Ukraine deploys American weapons is constantly evolving, suggesting that Washington may rescind an unwritten prohibition on Ukraine鈥檚 use of them for attacks on Russian territory.
Although U.S. officials insist there is no formal ban, they have long made clear that they believe the use of American weapons to attack targets inside Russia could provoke an escalatory response from Moscow, something that Russian President Vladimir Putin has promised.
That position, Blinken noted, was a 鈥渉allmark鈥� of the Biden administration's stance on Ukraine to 鈥渁dapt and adjust鈥� as needed. Blinken visited Kyiv earlier this month and heard a direct appeal from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to use U.S. military assistance to strike positions in Russian from where attacks on Ukraine are launched.
鈥淎s the conditions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, as what Russia does has changed in terms of how it鈥檚 pursuing its aggression, escalation, we鈥檝e adapted and adjusted too, and I鈥檓 confident we鈥檒l continue to do that,鈥� Blinken said at a news conference in Chisinau.
鈥淎t every step along the way, we鈥檝e adapted and adjusted as necessary, and so that鈥檚 exactly what we鈥檒l do going forward,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e always listening, we鈥檙e always learning, and we鈥檙e always making determinations about what鈥檚 necessary to make sure that Ukraine can effectively continue to defend itself, and we鈥檒l continue to do that.鈥�
Earlier this week, French President Emmanuel Macron and NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg said that Western countries should not object if Ukraine needs to strike inside Russia to defend itself. Stoltenberg reaffirmed that position on Thursday.
鈥淚 believe that time has come to (re)consider some of these restrictions to enable the Ukrainians to really defend themselves,鈥� he said. "We need to remember what it is. This is a war of aggression launched by choice by Moscow against Ukraine.鈥�
The right to self-defense, he said, " includes also striking legitimate military targets outside Ukraine.鈥�
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Lee reported from Prague. Associated Press writer Karel Janicek contributed to this report.
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Follow the AP's coverage of Secretary of State Antony Blinken at .
Matthew Lee, Aamer Madhani And Zeke Miller, The Associated Press
