What weapons are being used by Ukraine in its attack on Russia's Kursk province?

Statistics show that several North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) member states, including the US, UK and Germany, have allowed Ukraine to use their weapons in Russia's Kursk region.

Ukrainian soldiers use Western weapons for attacks in Russia's Kursk. (Source: Aljazeera)

On August 16, on the Telegram application, Kremlin Spokesperson Maria Zakharova accused Ukraine of using Western-made weapons in the attack on Russia's Kursk region.

"For the first time, the Kursk region was attacked with Western-made missile launchers, possibly the American HIMARS (High Mobility Artillery Rocket System)," Maria Zakharova said.

Ukraine’s offensive against Russia’s Kursk border province began on August 6. Here is some information about the foreign weapons Ukraine is using in this offensive:

Ukraine confirmed on August 22 that it used the US-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) in attacks on bridges over the Seym River in Russia's Kursk Oblast.

British media, including Sky News and the BBC , reported on August 15 that Ukraine was using British Challenger 2 tanks on Russian territory. The British Ministry of Defense declined to comment.

Observers believe that German-supplied weapons were also used in the attack. Germany is one of the largest arms suppliers to Ukraine, after the United States. The Western country has supplied Kiev with Marder infantry fighting vehicles, Leopard battle tanks, air defense systems, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and missile launchers.

NATO countries allow Ukraine to use their weapons on Russian territory

On May 31, US President Joe Biden implicitly eased the ban on Ukraine using its weapons to attack military targets in Russia. This was announced by Secretary of State Antony Blinken at a press conference following an informal meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in Prague, Czech Republic.

Officially, Washington has not yet allowed Ukraine to use long-range US missiles to attack targets inside Russian territory, due to concerns that this could escalate the conflict.

The event marked a change in policy for Mr. Biden, who had previously refused to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons in Russia.

In April, Mr. Biden signed off on nearly $61 billion in military assistance to Ukraine, with about $23 billion earmarked for replenishing military stockpiles and $14 billion earmarked for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, through which the U.S. government will purchase weapons systems from U.S. defense contractors for Ukraine.

From Kiev, Al Jazeera 's defence editor Alex Gatopoulos reported that 13 NATO countries have now given Ukraine the green light to use Western weapons such as tanks, artillery systems and infantry fighting vehicles inside Russian territory. These countries include: France, Britain, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Netherlands, Sweden, the Czech Republic, Finland, Denmark, Norway and Canada.

Limit set

On August 16, an unnamed US official told Reuters that if Ukraine began targeting non-military targets such as Russian villages, this would be considered a violation of the limits set by Washington to avoid direct conflict between NATO and Russia.

"The Western response has been muted because the message from the West so far has been to prevent Ukraine from using Western weapons on Russian territory," said Samantha de Bendern, a fellow in the Russia and Eurasia Programme at Chatham House and a political commentator for The Guardian .

On August 15, the British Ministry of Defense confirmed that Ukraine could use weapons provided by the country inside Russian territory, but the use of long-range Storm Shadow missiles was restricted.

Meanwhile, German media reported that the German Parliament's Defense Committee confirmed that Ukraine's use of weapons supplied by the country, including armored vehicles, inside Russian territory is legal.

Reactions of Ukraine and Russia

Ukraine wants to lift restrictions by arms donors such as the US and UK on the use of long-range missiles.

“Ukrainians urgently ask the United States, Britain and France to lift restrictions on the use of long-range missiles,” said Samantha de Bendern.

Last month, Politico quoted Andriy Yermak, Senior Advisor to the President of Ukraine, as saying that Ukraine wants the US to allow it to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) to attack Russian territory.

In a post on X on August 22, Vice President of the European Commission (EC) and High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borell urged arms donors to lift restrictions on Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Russia has strongly criticized Western countries and NATO for viewing the provision of weapons to Ukraine as involvement in the conflict.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/vu-khi-nao-dang-duoc-ukraine-su-dung-trong-cuoc-tan-cong-tinh-kursk-cua-nga-284138.html