Effectiveness Of Washington's Change In Strike Policy For Ukraine Limited, Report Says

Ukrainian forces have relied on U.S.-supplied High-Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) throughout the all-out Russian invasion.

Washington's limited policy change permitting Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to strike some Russian military targets in a small area within Russian territory is not enough in itself to disrupt Russia's large-scale operations, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in a report. The ISW said on June 9 that the move by the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden had reduced the size of Russia’s ground sanctuary by only 16 percent at maximum. This has "effectively created a vast sanctuary...which Russia exploits to shield its combat forces, command and control, logistics, and rear-area support services that the Russian military uses to conduct its military operations in Ukraine," it said.