Ryabkov was responding to statements from U.S. officials on Friday that President Joe Biden reportedly granted Ukraine permission to hit targets in Russia with weapons provided by the United States under certain situations. More specifically, the Ukrainians were cleared to hit positions in Russia launching devastating artillery and missile attacks against the border city of Kharkiv.

Germany also gave Ukraine permission on Friday to use its weapons against Russian targets to defend Kharkiv. The Netherlands, Finland, and Poland expressed support for allowing Ukraine to defend itself against attacks launched from Russian territory, as did NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.