The White House appears to be withdrawing from President Joe Biden’s remarks that the United States will not send long-range missile systems to Ukraine.
“We will not send missile systems to Ukraine that could hit Russia,” Biden told reporters at South Morava on Monday morning.
After his speech, a senior official of the administration said that there is still no decision on sending missile systems for multiple launches (MLRS) in Ukraine.
“The MLRS is under review, but nothing is on the table with opportunities for long-range strikes,” an administration official said Monday, according to The Washington Post.
The Biden administration was expected to announce a decision to send the systems to Ukraine sometime this week, according to numerous publications. Ahead of Remembrance Day weekend, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said officials were still deciding what the next download package would include.
“Of course, we are aware and are aware of the demands of the Ukrainians, privately and publicly, for what is known as a missile system for many launches,” Kirby said on Friday.
“I will not be ahead of the decisions … but I can assure you that we are in constant communication with them [Ukraine]. We are still committed to helping them succeed on the battlefield and succeed specifically in the battle in which they find themselves. “
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky has called for long-range systems.
South Carolina Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham insists on providing the systems to Ukraine. On Monday, he called Biden’s remarks against the delivery a “betrayal of Ukraine” and democracy itself.
“Obviously, the Biden administration is again frightened by Russian rhetoric,” Graham wrote on Twitter. “This is another terrible day in Biden’s ongoing parody of foreign policy.
Meanwhile, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev called Biden’s apparent decision not to send the systems “rational.”
Russia has shifted its offensive in recent weeks as it continues to focus on the Donbass region and southern Ukraine. The concentration of forces in this area has led to various changes for Ukraine. Russia is more familiar with Donbass as fighting in the region has continued for the past eight years, Kirby said.
Zelensky called for long-range systems, some missiles have a range of nearly 185 miles. As Newsweek reported, MLRS is more mobile than the howitzers the United States has provided to Ukraine in the latest download packages. The United States is also training howitzers in Ukraine outside of Ukraine.
President Joe Biden speaks to reporters as he returns to the White House from Delaware on the South Lawn in Washington, DC, Monday, May 30, 2022. Andrew Harnick / AP Photo
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