Ukrainian officials are preparing to ask the Biden administration if the country can use U.S. weapons for deeper strikes inside Russian territory in the latest effort to lift restrictions on using American military equipment, Politico reported.
The Biden administration previously lifted some restrictions on U.S.-provided weapons to Ukraine in May by allowingKyiv to fire limited strikes into territory just over Russia’s borders. Ukrainian officials are now publicly demanding further allowances on U.S. weapons use, even as Russia has warned that it would broaden the scope of the war.
“There should be no restrictions on the range of weapons for Ukraine, while terrorists have no such restrictions,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an address on Monday. “The United States, the United Kingdom, France, and other partners have the power to help us stop terror. We need decisions.”
Ukrainian defense officials are getting ready to present their U.S. counterparts with a list of locations in Russia they want to target in long-range strikes using American weapons, three people familiar with discussions told Politico. U.S. officials have been wary of allowing Ukraine to perform such strikes, as they do not believe it would move Kyiv any closer to victory and even potentially raise the risk that Russia becomes more aggressive in its offensive efforts.
White House National Security Council (NSC) spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Monday that there were “no changes” in U.S. policy on the matter.
“This is not a new desire by President Zelenskyy by any stretch,” Kirby said. “We’ll keep the conversations with the Ukrainians going, but we’re going to keep them private. And I have no changes to our policies with respect to U.S. weapons to speak to today or no guidelines to talk to.”
The Russia-Ukraine war — which had largely stalled out in recent months — took a turn this month when Ukrainian forces staged an incursion into Russian territory, seizing hundreds of miles of territory. It isn’t clear whether the incursion will help Ukraine’s position in the broader war or whether it could be used as leverage in peace negotiations; Russia thus far responded by sending forces to take back the territory.
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