A group of Republicans from the US House of Representatives called on the White House to lift restrictions on the use of weapons transferred to Ukraine to strike Russian territory. This statement was published on the Congress Committee on Foreign Affairs website.
The signatures on the letter included Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul, Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, Standing Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Turner, Foreign Affairs Committee European Affairs Chairman Tom Kean, Defense Appropriations Chairman Ken Calvert, and Helsinki Commission Commissioner Richard Hudson.
They call on the White House to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American long-range weapons, including ATACS missiles, deep into Russian territory.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s senseless restrictions, combined with the longstanding slow-rolling of critical weapons approvals and deliveries, are hindering Ukraine’s ability to bring this war to a victorious conclusion. 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,” the members of Congress said.
They emphasized that with the status quo, the Russians have a “protected zone” where they can safely keep their weapons and launch strikes on Ukraine’s territory from there.
Against the backdrop of the Russian summer offensive in the Kharkiv region, the signatories welcomed the administration’s decision to allow American weapons to strike near the border. However, they emphasized that this decision came too late. Had Ukraine received this opportunity earlier, the Kharkiv offensive might not have occurred at all, allowing Kyiv to keep larger forces in the most difficult areas in the east, they claimed.
The Republicans noted that more than 200 potential targets still remain within ATACMS range, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Members of Congress also emphasized that “fears of escalation” turned out to be meaningless, which was confirmed in particular by Ukraine’s operation in the Kursk region of the Russian Federation.
“Recent reports that the real reason for the administration’s reluctance to lift restrictions is not to jeopardize a future reset of relations with Russia are very alarming,” the letter said.
“The Biden-Harris administration’s senseless restrictions, combined with the longstanding slow-rolling of critical weapons approvals and deliveries, are hindering Ukraine’s ability to bring this war to a victorious conclusion. 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,” the letter reads.
The failure of the Obama-Putin “reset” before the Russian invasion of Georgia in 2008 showed that Putin does not respond to appeasement and olive branches. This conflict will end only when tougher sanctions and Ukraine’s successes on the battlefield convince Putin that he won’t gain anything from the war,” they emphasized.
The signatories also expressed disappointment at reports in the media that the United States is dissuading Britain and France from a decision to lift “long-range” restrictions on the weapons they transferred.
“Just as there was a disgraceful delay by the Biden-Harris administration in allowing our allies to provide F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine, the administration is now preventing our more determined allies from helping Ukraine win. Russia should have no safe place from which it can commit war crimes against Ukraine with impunity,” they said.
On September 10, US President Joe Biden hinted that the US might lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons on Russian territory.
According to reports, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Biden will discuss this issue during their meeting at the White House this Friday.
