Pro-Ukraine House Republican chairmen on Friday said President Joe Biden allowing Ukraine to strike certain targets on Russia soil with American weapons is a half measure.
U.S. officials said Biden had granted Ukraine “limited” authorization for Ukraine to strike Russia. Fox News reported:
The president recently directed his team to ensure that Ukraine is able to use U.S.-supplied weapons for counter-fire purposes in the Kharkiv region, so Ukraine can hit back against Russian forces that are attacking them or preparing to attack them. Our policy with respect to prohibiting the use of ATACMS or long-range strikes inside of Russia has not changed.
Biden had granted this request after Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner (R-OH), and other lawmakers had pressed the president to authorize Ukraine to attack Russia with American-provided arms.
This represents yet another escalation in Ukraine’s protracted conflict with Russia.
However, Turner, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-AL), and House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) in a joint statement referred to Biden’s decision as half-baked:
This decision should have been made before Russia’s recent offensive in Kharkiv, not after. Instead, the Biden administration’s continued handwringing crippled Ukraine’s response, forcing them to stand idly by and watch Russian forces prepare for an imminent attack just across its border. Moreover, by leaking to the press that the policy reversal only applies to certain U.S.-provided weapons in a limited area within Russia, the administration has telegraphed to Russia exactly how to effectively adapt to this change in policy, thereby decreasing the military effectiveness of the decision. To win this war of self-defense against Russia’s aggression, Ukraine must be allowed to use U.S.-provided weapons against any legitimate military targets in Russia, not just along the border near Kharkiv. Once again, President Biden’s policy of slow walking and half-measures is dragging out this conflict without providing Ukraine with a decisive advantage on the battlefield to force Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table as soon as possible.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin has warned that any NATO countries that let Ukraine strike with their weapons would face “major consequences.”
The New York Times reported that Biden made Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky promise never to fire American-provided weapons into Russian territory to “avoid World War III.”
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
