The Russian military offensive on Kharkiv has “stalled” according to the White House national security adviser who spoke this Sunday from Paris.
A consequence, according to him, of the authorization of the use of American weapons by kyiv against targets in Russia near the border.
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More than two years of war in Ukraine
A failure for Moscow. The Russian military offensive around Kharkiv “stalled”White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told CBS from Paris, where he is accompanying US President Joe Biden on his state visit to France.
Jake Sullivan sees in this Russian slowdown in particular a consequence of the green light given by Washington to the Ukrainians to strike in Russia, on the other side of the border.
“The Russians have not gained any ground”
“From the president’s (Joe Biden) point of view, it’s just common sense. What was happening around Kharkiv, what was new in recent months, was a Russian offensive where they were going one way from the border to the other, and it made no sense not to let the Ukrainians strike across this border”Jake Sullivan told CBS. “So the president authorized this. The Ukrainians put it into practice on the battlefield”he added.
As a reminder, the President of the United States, who until then refused to do so, gave the green light last week, under conditions, to the use of American weapons by kyiv against targets in Russia located near the Kharkiv region, northeastern Ukraine. Joe Biden, however, repeated Thursday, in an interview with ABC, that there was no question of “strike 300 km inside Russian territory or in Moscow or on the Kremlin”but only to aim “near the border”.
“I want to emphasize that this (Russian) offensive in Kharkiv has stalled. Kharkiv remains threatened, but the Russians have not gained any ground in recent days in this area”assured Jake Sullivan, who also stressed that “the United States will continue to support Ukraine to hold the line and repel aggressive Russian forces”.
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On Tuesday, the advisor had already estimated that this new authorization, in addition to the regular arrival of American weapons thanks to a vote in Congress, had had an impact on the front. “We saw them reinforcing the lines in some key places. We see them resisting the Russian assault”declared Jake Sullivan, shortly before Joe Biden announced new aid of $225 million to Ukraine on Friday.
