WASHINGTON — The Biden administration remains unconvinced it should give Ukraine power authority to launch long-range missiles deeper into Russia and U.S. officials say they want more detailed information about how Kiev would use the weapons and how they fit into the broader strategy for the war.
U.S. officials said they have asked Ukraine to more clearly define its combat goals as President Joe Biden prepares to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky next week.
Government officials are concerned about easing restrictions on the use of the weapons would have limited impact and carry great risks. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned last week that Russia would be “at war” with the United States and its NATO allies if they allowed Ukraine to use the long-range weapons.
U.S. defense officials have repeatedly argued that the long-range missiles are limited in number and that Ukraine already uses its own long-range drones to strike targets farther inside Russia. That capability was demonstrated by a Ukrainian drone attack last night which hit a large military depot and caused a huge fire in a town 500 kilometers from the border.
However, Ukrainian leaders say they need permission to attack arms depots, airfields and military bases far from the border to motivate Russia to seek peace. The US allows Ukraine to American-supplied weapons in more limited, cross-border strikes to counter attacks by Russian forces.
The US is coming under pressure increasing pressure from NATO allies who believe Ukraine should be the one deciding how and where to use the weapons and how to wage its own war. A senior U.S. official said the issue came up at meetings of NATO defense chiefs in Europe over the weekend — attended by Gen. C.Q. Brown, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff — and that most were in favor of the change.
The US officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations.
Ukraine is pushing to use US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to get deeper into RussiaBiden discussed the issue last week during a meeting with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
U.S. officials familiar with the discussions said they believed Starmer was seeking Biden’s approval to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles for extended strikes inside Russia. Biden’s approval may be needed because Storm Shadow components are made in the U.S. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to share the status of private discussions.
Starmer said the talks would continue when world leaders gather for the UN General Assembly next week. Biden’s meeting with Zelenskyy is expected to take place late next week after the US president returns from the UN
A senior US official said the US wants to help Ukraine shape its combat objectives for the war and the use of long-range weapons.
On Saturday, the head of NATO’s military committee said Ukraine has a solid legal and military right to strike deep inside Russia to gain a combat advantage. Admiral Rob Bauer of the Netherlands said in Prague at the end of the meeting of the alliance’s military leaders: “Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right does not stop at the border of your own nation.”
Lieutenant General Karel Řehka, Chief of the General Staff of the Czech Armed Forces, made it clear that his country does not impose such arms restrictions on Kiev.
“We believe that Ukrainians themselves should decide how to use it,” Řehka said.
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has consistently rejected the idea that long-range strikes would be a game changer.
“I don’t believe any one capability is going to be decisive, and I stand by that statement,” Austin said, noting that Ukraine has other means of striking long-range targets.