The decision came after weeks of intense behind-the-scenes consultations with Ukrainian officials, and was made more urgent after Russia launched a major attack on Kharkiv around May 10.
Three days later, on May 13, Sullivan, Austin and Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a regularly scheduled classified video conference with their Ukrainian counterparts. The Ukrainians again called on Biden to lift U.S. restrictions on firing on Russian territory and argued that the president’s concerns about escalating tensions were overblown. But now, they said, the issue has become more urgent with Russia shelling civilian facilities around Kharkiv from within its own border, knowing Ukraine will not be able to adequately respond.
After the meeting, Sullivan, Austin and Brown decided to recommend a change in policy to the president, according to officials. But they reserved the decision. Two days later, on May 15, Sullivan conveyed his recommendation to Biden, who for the first time indicated his intention to create an exception for Ukraine to strike back even if a Russian attack came from just a few miles behind the Russian border. By that time, Blinken was already in Kiev and had heard the reasons for the change in policy directly from President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The same day as his private meeting with Sullivan, the president met with Gen. Christopher G. Cavoli, the head of U.S. European Command and Supreme Allied Commander Europe. Cavoli, who was in Washington for the annual meeting of combatant commanders, told Biden he agrees that a ban on shelling Russia poses a danger to Ukraine, though he also worries about a Russian reaction, according to one official.
After returning from Kiev, Blinken met with Biden and Sullivan in the Oval Office on the evening of May 17 and said he was convinced the U.S. had to change its stance. It was clear to him that Biden agreed at the time, officials said, but the president insisted he needed to meet with his national security “heads” to consider the risks before making a formal decision. That meeting didn’t happen until last week, just as news of Blinken’s change of stance leaked.
