U.S. Congressmen urge Biden to let Ukraine strike deep into Russia

CNN reports this.

Two U.S. officials stated that the Biden administration isn’t planning any policy changes to lift these restrictions.

“No change to policy,” said one senior official, adding that, despite regular discussions with Ukrainian officials, there’s no current willingness to reconsider.

Republican lawmakers argue the restrictions have “hampered Ukraine’s ability to defeat Russia’s war of aggression and have given the Kremlin’s forces a sanctuary from which it can attack Ukraine with impunity.”

“It is far past time the administration reverses course and lifts the remaining restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia,” they wrote.

A U.S. official confirmed that “several hundred” ATACMS were delivered to Ukraine, and “Ukraine has used most of them.”

Republican lawmakers went on to say that “the administration’s concerns about escalation have been consistently invalidated since Day One of the war.”

“Neither Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided weapons in Russia nor its military incursion into Russia’s Kursk region – the first foreign occupation of Russian territory since World War II – have triggered a Russian escalatory response,” they pointed out.

In their letter, they also noted, “there remain numerous other legitimate military targets in range in Russian territory.”

“The Institute for the Study of War assesses that, excluding airfields, there are over 200 legitimate military targets within range of U.S.-provided weapons to include military bases, logistics nodes, fuel depots, ammunition warehouses, and command and control systems,” they explained.

The letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Michael Turner, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, House Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Ken Calvert, House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Chairman Thomas Kean, and Helsinki Commissioner Richard Hudson. 

• On September 6, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin made it clear that the U.S. doesn’t authorize Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, saying it wouldn’t be a “game-changer.”
• On September 10, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken mentioned that President Biden “doesn’t rule out” Ukraine being allowed to strike Russian targets deep within the country.
• Biden has stated that the issue of permitting Ukraine to strike Russian territory with long-range U.S. weapons is still under review.