Ukraine presses Biden to lift ban on using US weapons to strike Russia
Kyiv watched as Russians massed on the border, but they weren’t allowed to use long-range missiles provided by Washington.
Ukrainian officials watched for weeks as the Russians massed near the Ukrainian border, unable to use U.S.-supplied weapons to conduct a preemptive strike due to Washington’s policy. The Biden administration, as a condition of sending the long-range weapons to Ukraine, said they could not be used to strike inside Russian territory.
Russia is well aware of this limitation, and was able to mass at least 30,000 troops and equipment on the border without fear of being hit by long-range U.S.-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, which Ukraine has used to devastating effect on Russian troops inside Ukraine.
Two U.S. officials, when asked for comment, confirmed that the Biden administration’s policy has not changed. “The assistance is for the defense and not for offensive operations in Russian territory,” said one of the officials
Vladimir Putin said in March that he was considering establishing a buffer zone near Kharkiv to make it harder for Ukraine to launch small drones targeting Russian oil infrastructure, a tactic that Kyiv has been using for months to hit Moscow’s economy.
The Institute for the Study of War assessed Monday that Russian forces had already captured several towns near the border and are destroying bridges to make it more difficult for Ukraine to counterattack, moves which “suggest that Russian forces are prioritizing the creation of a ‘buffer zone’ over a deeper penetration.”
The Russian leader has taken command of a new cadre of paramilitary fighters that will allow him to finance and resource a new mobilization this summer, the officials said.
Those fighters formerly employed by Wagner.
Those new troops will give Russia the ability to push toward Kharkiv, which has been increasingly pounded by Russian air and missile strikes in preparation for the ground assault.
