NEW YORK, May 31. /TASS/. US officials think that first attacks on Russian soil using US weapons may begin in a matter of several hours or days, the New York Times (NYT) reported, citing sources.

Earlier, the Pentagon confirmed that US President Joe Biden’s administration had authorized Ukraine to conduct limited strikes inside Russia with American-made weapons. According to the newspaper, the decision came into effect on Thursday, May 30.

The news outlet noted that the decision to reconsider the policy track with regard to US weapons is related to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kiev in mid-May, however, talks between the Americans and Ukrainians on the issue were underway for weeks. In particular, on May 13, US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Charles Brown discussed this issue in a video conference format with their Ukrainian colleagues and "decided to recommend to the president that he reverse his position." According to the NYT, Biden for the first time allowed for exceptions on May 15 and the final decision was made last week.

The newspaper noted that the leak to the media about the potential lifting of restrictions on the use of the US arms angered the Pentagon. "The formal orders did not get conveyed to the Pentagon until earlier this week," the NYT added. However, only the close circle was aware of the change and at the May 30 briefing, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh continued to convince reporters that there had been no policy change.

The newspaper noted that, having allowed to use US arms for strikes on Russia, "Biden has clearly crossed a red line that he himself drew." An anonymous senior US official told the NYT that the US president’s "restrictions could be subject to further loosening." "This is a new reality," he said, "and perhaps a new era" in the Ukraine conflict.

As Politico reported earlier, citing four anonymous sources, including two US officials, Biden secretly gave permission to use US-supplied weapons to deliver strikes on Russian soil. It was claimed that the permission applied to the Russian regions bordering the Kharkov Region.

Possibility of strikes on Russian territory

On May 28, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that when speaking about strikes inside Russia, representatives of NATO countries, "should be aware of what they are playing with." According to Putin, Russia is closely monitoring such a discussion. Once Ukraine’s military uses long-range weapons, Moscow will once again have to decide on a "buffer zone," Putin said.

Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said on his Telegram channel today that Moscow proceeded from the fact that all long-range weapons supplied to Ukraine were already "directly operated by servicemen from NATO countries," which is tantamount to participation in the war against Russia and a reason to start combat operations.