Biden allows Ukraine to hit some targets inRussia with US weapons | BBC News

US President Joe Biden has given Ukraine permissionto use American-supplied weapons to strike targets inRussia, but only near the Kharkiv region, US officials have said.

One official said his team had been directed to ensureUkraine was able to use US weapons for "counter-firepurposes" to "hit back at Russian forces hitting them or preparing to hit them".

Russian forces have made gains in the north-easternKharkiv region in recent weeks after a surpriseoffensive in the area, close to the border with Russia.

European leaders and the UK had called forrestrictions on the use of such weapons to be relaxed,despite concerns that such a development could further escalate the conflict.

President Vladimir Putin warned that attacks byUkraine on Russia with Western missiles risked triggering a wider war.