The US is arming Ukraine with advanced missile systems – with assurances that they will not be used to attack Russia. Biden emphasizes that his country does not want NATO to go to war with Russia.
The US government is supplying modern multiple rocket launchers to Ukraine to defend against Russian invasion as part of a new security package.
The White House said Ukraine had pledged not to attack targets on Russian territory with the US-made HIMARS artillery system. The system is part of a $700 million package that also includes missiles, radar systems, Javelin anti-tank weapons, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts.
put Russia in its place
US President Joe Biden wrote in a guest article for the “New York Times” that the modern missile systems should enable the attacked country to hit “important targets on the battlefield in Ukraine” more precisely. At the same time, Biden assured: “We don’t want a war between NATO and Russia.” Nor did the US attempt to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, if Russia does not pay a high price for attacking Ukraine, it could lead to the end of the rules-based international order and catastrophic consequences worldwide.
“As long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not intervene directly in this conflict, either by sending American troops to Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” the US President said. “We do not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We don’t want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”
The Americans would continue to support the Ukrainian people, “because we know that freedom does not come for free,” Biden wrote. “We want a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine that has the means to deter and defend against further aggression.” The US would continue to work with its partners on sanctions against Russia.
No signs of nuclear weapons use
Biden underscored that there is currently no evidence that Russia intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. “Russia’s occasional rhetoric of rattling the nuclear saber” is in itself dangerous and irresponsible. “To be clear, any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict, on any scale, would be totally unacceptable to us and the rest of the world and would have serious consequences.”
US media had already reported last week that the USA was considering the delivery of the HIMARS system. But Biden caused confusion on Monday when he said he would not send missile systems to Ukraine that could hit Russian territory. According to his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, the President said that no missiles would be delivered “for use outside of the battlefield in Ukraine”.
Artillery delivery “top mission”
A senior US official said: “The Ukrainians have assured us that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory.” With the HIMARS system, the USA would supply missiles that would only have a range of around 80 kilometers – specialized missiles for use in the system, on the other hand, can fly up to 300 kilometers. CNN had reported fears in the US government that Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory could result in retaliatory measures against the US.
The government representative said in a telephone switchboard with journalists that since mid-April the Ukrainians had been pushing for the delivery of artillery. This has become the “top priority” for the United States. Almost all of the 108 promised American M777 howitzers have already been delivered. The range of these howitzers is given as around 25 kilometers. The US government has already launched several large packages of support for Ukraine. The US Congress recently approved an aid package for Ukraine worth almost 40 billion dollars.
