US weapons are forcing Russians to step back in Ukraine: Kyiv deputy

Ukrainian forces have been able to stop Russia’s summer Kharkiv offensive with the help of American weapons, according to a senior Ukrainian lawmaker, with U.S. arms used to target especially valuable systems including advanced air defense platforms.

“We stopped the Russian offensive operation,” Yehor Cherniev, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament and the deputy head of its national security, defense and intelligence committee, told Newsweek on Thursday.

“We also destroyed some of their quite sophisticated and expensive air defense systems with the U.S. weapons,” Cherniev, who is also the permanent head of Ukraine’s delegation to the NATO Parliamentary Assembly (PA), added.

“It forced the Russians—probably not to leave the territory near the border—but to transfer some troops and transfer some equipment, some weapons, into their deep rear. So, it helps us to protect our territory.”

Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.

Ukraine appears to have neutralized the threat of a Russian breakthrough in northeastern Kharkiv following Moscow’s launch of its newest offensive operation there in May. Though the Kremlin’s forces seized more than 65 square miles of new territory in Kharkiv, Russian units have reportedly suffered severe casualties while being contained by Ukrainian reinforcements.

“A very significant result is that the Russian Army failed,” President Volodymyr Zelensky said of the offensive earlier this month. “The direction is strengthened. And it will be strengthened more.”

Moscow’s latest gambit also mobilized greater Western support for Kyiv at a time when commitment and focus appeared to be lagging ahead of pivotal elections in Europe and the United States. As Ukraine’s forces sought to contain the Russian drive, NATO leaders began greenlighting the use of their advanced weapons within Russian borders.

The U.S. was relatively slow to give its approval, but American weapons—among them the HIMARS—have already been credited with high-profile successes. At the start of June, for example, a HIMARS strike in Russia’s Belgorod border region destroyed a Russian S-300/400 air defense battery.

The Institute for the Study of War suggested earlier this month that the use of Western weapons within Russian borders will “play a critical role in Ukraine’s defense of its territory and future counteroffensive operations.”

The policy shift infuriated Moscow, prompting President Vladimir Putin to issue fresh threats against NATO nations.

“In Europe, especially in small countries, they should realize what they are playing with,” the president said.

“They should remember that they are countries with small, densely populated territories…This is a factor they should keep in mind before talking about striking Russia.”