UKRAINE, Sep 3 — The United States has not changed its policy of restricting the use of provided weapons for strikes deep in Russian territory, said Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Patrick Ryder in a briefing.

Different allies started allowing Ukraine to strike military targets deep inside Russia in May 2024, when Moscow launched a ground assault north of the Kharkiv region. Back then, America approved short-range attacks to defend the Kharkiv region and then the entire state’s border. However, long-range attacks on Russian territory were still prohibited.

“I don’t have any announcements about policy changes,” he said.

Ryder said that Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin will meet with Ukrainian and international partners later this week in Ramstein format.

 “There [during the meeting], we will focus on, once again, better understanding Ukraine’s security assistance needs and how best to meet them,” he said.

On August 30, after the Russian bombardment of Kharkiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again urged Kyiv’s allies to allow long-range strikes on Russian territory to protect the country from Moscow’s jets that launch highly destructive glide bombs. 

During three days from August 30 to September 1, Russian glide bombs, drones, and missiles killed at least nine people, including a child, and injured 168 people, including 31 children, in Kharkiv and Cherkaska Lozova, a settlement on the city’s outskirts. 

On September 3, Russia launched a missile attack on Poltava, killing 53 people and injuring 298. Search and rescue operations continue.

On the morning of September 4, the Russian army launched a missile and drone attack on Lviv, killing seven people, including two children of seven and 14 years, and injuring 45, including seven children.

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