A Ukrainian defense insider has criticized the Harris-Biden administration for aiding a Russian glide-bomb attack that resulted in six deaths, including a child at a playground in Kharkiv city. The insider claims that by refusing to let Kyiv use US-provided weapons within Russia, Western powers are indirectly assisting Russia in the killing of Ukrainian children and facilitating war crimes.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed support for these claims on social media, stating that the attack could have been prevented if Ukraine had been able to destroy Russian military aircraft at their bases. He emphasized the need for strong decisions from partners to stop the ongoing terror and the necessity of long-range capabilities and air defense agreements for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov met with Pentagon officials on Friday to advocate for lifting restrictions on firing long-range ATACMS missiles into Russian territory. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) this week revealed a list of 250 Russian military bases and assets that could be targeted using US-provided ATACMS missiles if given permission.
These targets include at least 12 Russian air bases, weapons storage, and ammunition depots that could significantly cripple Russia’s latest offensive on Pokrovsk, a town of 60,000 people in southeastern Ukraine. By not allowing the Ukrainians to fire long-range weapons into Russia, US policy has essentially created a “magic shield” for Moscow to position military assets near the Ukrainian border without fully defending them.
While Kyiv would prefer having full discretion over how to use US weapons, they are willing to work with the Pentagon on a target-by-target basis if it means striking at the heart of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s military. However, it remains unclear whether the Pentagon will be open to allowing strikes on Russian territory, as neither the US nor Ukraine governments have confirmed these discussions beyond noting Umerov’s meeting with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
