NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg argued that Ukraine should be able to use American weapons to attack inside Russian territory, in an apparent break with the Biden administration.
“I think the time has come for the allies to consider whether they should lift some of the restrictions they place on the use of the weapons they have donated to Ukraine because, especially now that a lot of fighting is taking place in Kharkiv, close to the border,” he said Stoltenberg in a interview with the economist weekend. “Denying Ukraine the ability to use these weapons against legitimate military targets on Russian territory makes it very difficult for them to defend themselves.”
While the NATO chief did not mention the United States or the Biden administration by name, the comments come as the United States continues to ban Ukraine from using American weapons to attack Russian territory.
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NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg (AP Photo/Susan Walsh, Swimming Pool)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has urged the United States to lift restrictions, calls that have begun to gain support among some lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Last week, a bipartisan group of lawmakers led by House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Michael Turner, R-Ohio, wrote a letter to the Department of Defense calling for lifting restrictions on the use of U.S. weapons. .
“Ukrainians have been unable to defend themselves due to the administration’s current policy,” the letter said.
According to a Report of the Institute for the Study of War, Russia has continued to accumulate equipment and men on the border with Ukraine for its planned offensive in Kharkiv. Most of that equipment has remained in reserve on the Russian side of the border, the report notes, far enough away to be out of reach of much of Ukraine’s arsenal.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, looks at a map during his visit to the 110th Mechanized Brigade in Avdiivka, the site of fierce battles with Russian troops in the Donetsk region. (Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP)
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That could change if Ukraine could use the HIMARS rocket weapons systems and ATACMS missiles provided to the country by the United States, which the report said could likely hit Russian targets.
Recent calls to change that policy have also won support from House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., who said in an interview with Voice of America last week that the United States should not “micromanage” the war effort. from Ukraine.
president biden (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
“I think we should allow Ukraine to pursue the war as it sees fit,” Johnson said. “They need to be able to defend themselves.”
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The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Fox News Digital.
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