Ukraine had requested a longer-range weapon system to support its war with Russia. US President Joe Biden said on Monday that Washington will not send rocket systems that could reach Russia to assist Ukraine.
Ukrainian officials are requesting longer-range systems from their allies, including the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), which can fire rockets rapidly from hundreds of miles away.
“We will not send Ukraine rocket systems that it can fire at Russia,” Biden told reporters when he returned to the White House after his weekend in Delaware.
President Biden did not rule out the possibility of the US supplying Ukraine with a particular weapon system; however, it was understood from his statement that Biden put forward conditions regarding how the weapons could be used.
Biden and his team are working on a new package of military equipment. The package is expected to be announced in the coming days.
A senior Biden administration official said the MLRS was being evaluated, but not weapons with long-range attack capabilities other than for use on the battlefield.
CNN and The Washington Post reported last Friday that the Biden administration is inclined to send the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System known as MLRS and HIMARS as part of the military aid package to be announced soon.
As Kyiv fought Russian forces more successfully than intelligence officials had anticipated, the Biden administration and its US allies began to take an increasingly moderate view of supplying Ukraine with longer-range weapons, including the M777 howitzer.
But US intelligence has warned of the risks, especially given the mismatch between the apparent ambitions of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the performance of his military.
Ukraine’s Defense Minister Oleksiy Reznikov said on Saturday that Ukraine has begun buying Harpoon anti-ship missiles from Denmark and self-propelled howitzers from the United States.
Ukraine: “We want full membership”
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba said on Monday that Ukraine is tired of “tailored solutions” and separate models for integration into the European Union, and is seeking full membership.
French President Emmanuel Macron this month proposed the creation of a “European political community” that would create a new structure that would allow closer cooperation with countries seeking EU membership.
“We need a clear legal confirmation that Ukraine is part of the European integration project, and such confirmation comes with the granting of candidate status,” Kuleba said after meeting with French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna in Kiev.
France is trying to reassure Kiev that an attempt to build closer ties between the EU and its candidate members will not replace countries’ applications to join the union.
According to the press office of the Presidency of Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who later had a meeting with Colonna, said that Kiev is counting on the support of France to get Ukraine’s EU candidate status.
The European Commission, the executive branch of the Union, will announce its opinion on Ukraine’s candidacy request in June.
Even if Ukraine’s candidacy is approved, the process is expected to take a long time. Member states also have the right to veto their candidacy application.