Pentagon allows US military contractors to fix weapons in Ukraine

US eases restrictions for a few contractors to work away from the front lines and says they won’t engage in combat.

The United States is allowing a small number of American defence contractors to work inside Ukraine to maintain and repair Pentagon-provided weaponry, according to US officials.

The US has been a key military backer of Ukraine, committing more than $60bn in security aid since Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. But it has not permitted US military contractors to work in Ukraine, wary that it could be drawn into a direct conflict with Russia.

US President Joe Biden made the decision in a significant policy shift before he leaves office in January, US media reported on Friday, before the November 5 presidential election, won by Donald Trump.

Biden also plans to rush billions of dollars in security assistance to Ukraine before his term ends. Trump has criticised the scale of US military and financial support for Ukraine and has pledged to end the war with Russia quickly – without saying how.

For the past two years, US and allied forces have been providing real-time maintenance advice using phones and tablets to communicate in encrypted chatrooms with Ukrainian forces.