Kyiv has used US weapons inside Russia just days after President Biden approved the tactic for defending Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, officials said.

Yehor Chernev – the deputy chairman of the Ukrainian Parliament’s committee on national security, defense and intelligence – said Kyiv used the weapons to destroy Russian missile launchers in the Belgorod region, The New York Times reports. 

While the Ukrainian military has remained silent on the weapons’ usage, a western official familiar with the matter also confirmed the use.

Chernev said Ukraine specifically used a High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) — the first time Kyiv officials acknowledged the use of American weapons inside Russia since Biden lifted the ban last week. 

Biden’s directive greenlights the usage of US-supplied weapons to strike Russian forces that are attacking or preparing to attack Kharkiv. 

Kharkiv sits just 12 miles from the Russian border, where battles have intensified in recent weeks as Moscow aims to expand its foothold in the region.

The HIMARS that Ukraine deployed on Tuesday is a rocket system with a range of 185 miles — bringing greater firepower from farther away than the rest of Kyiv’s weaponry. 

Ukraine had urged the US to allow its forces to use American weapons to stave off the Russian invasion, with Moscow exploiting the delay in military aid to advance along the border.      

The new US policy, however, still limits Ukraine’s use of certain American weapons, barring the much larger range ATACMS and other far-reaching US-munitions from striking inside Russia. 

White House national security spokesman John Kirby declined to confirm the active use of American weapons in Russia when asked by reporters on Tuesday. 

“We’re just not in a position on a day-to-day basis of knowing exactly what the Ukrainians are firing at what,” Kirby said. “It’s certainly at a tactical level.”

With Post wires