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White House: US maintains stance on long-range missile restrictions for Ukraine

There will be no change to the United States’ policy regarding the provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine, according to White House spokesman.

byBohdan Ben

13/09/2024

2 minute read

US National Security Adviser John Kirby at a briefing in the White House. Credit: Screenshot from the briefing

White House: US maintains stance on long-range missile restrictions for Ukraine

The White House has announced that there will be no change to the United States’ policy regarding the provision of long-range missiles to Ukraine, according to White House national security spokesman John Kirby, cited by Reuters.

His statement comes ahead of a meeting between US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Friday.

Kirby told reporters, “There is no change to our view on the provision of long-range strike capabilities for Ukraine to use inside of Russia.” He added that no major announcements on this matter should be expected from the Biden-Starmer discussions.

The clarification comes in the wake of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s ongoing appeals to Western allies for permission to use long-range missiles, such as US ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, to strike targets deep within Russian territory and in that way limit Russian ability to conduct its offensive campaign and decrease Russia’s strikes with glide bombs on the frontline by hitting airfields.

Kirby also addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin’s recent warning that the West would be considered directly involved in the war if Ukraine were to fire Western-made long-range missiles into Russia. While acknowledging the seriousness of Putin’s statement, Kirby noted that this rhetoric is not new from the Russian leader.

“This is not rhetoric that we haven’t heard from him before,” Kirby stated. “He has obviously proven capable of aggression…so, yeah we take these comments seriously.”

The announcement underscores the persisting hesitation of the United States and its allies regarding supporting Ukraine, which limits Ukrainian capabilities to conduct larger operations against Russia and liberate occupied territories.

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