Russian officials have been proclaiming all week that NATO countries were risking escalation if they allowed Ukraine to fire weapons into Russian territory. Putin had warned that this type of escalation could lead to serious consequences. After the U.S. granted Ukraine permission to use American arms to fire into Russia along Ukraine’s border near Kharkiv, Russia has now quickly responded. Early this morning, a Russian missile hit a multistory apartment building in Kharkiv, precisely the type of attack which Ukraine had cited when appealing to allies for the ability to strike back against Russia. The strike killed three and wounded 23. The Kremlin claimed to not know anything about the U.S. policy change, stating that what they did know was that there had been attempts to hit Russian territory using U.S. weapons which demonstrated to Russia the extent of U.S. involvement in the war. 

Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/05/31/world/europe/us-ukraine-kharkiv.html