Biden to discuss transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine with Zelensky
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US President Joe Biden will discuss with his Ukrainian counterpart Vladimir Zelensky the possibility of supplying Ukraine with long-range missiles. About it informed US national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
“With regard to long-range missiles, President Biden will continue to discuss this issue with President Zelensky today,” the adviser said in an interview with ABC television. The presidents are at the NATO summit in Vilnius.
Earlier, The New York Times, citing sources reportedthat the Biden administration is holding a “quiet” debate on the possibility of supplying long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine.
At the same time, the newspaper’s interlocutors noted that the arsenal of ballistic missiles is “small” and the missiles are intended “for other military plans” of the Pentagon, including on the Korean Peninsula. The sources also added that the transfer of long-range missiles to Ukraine could “jeopardize preparedness in other hotspots.”
Kiev’s intention to receive ATACMS with a range of up to 300 km from Washington became known back in the fall of 2022. After that, the Russian Foreign Ministry said that the supply of such weapons capable of hitting Russian cities would mean “direct involvement of the United States in a military confrontation with Russia” .
As Zelensky assured in March, the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) would not use Western weapons to attack Russia. At the same time, the Ukrainian leader emphasized that Kyiv considers all the territories that were within the borders of 1991 to be its own.
On July 11, French President Emmanuel Macron announced the transfer of long-range missiles to the Ukrainian army for “deep strikes”. Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Russian president, called France’s decision “wrong” and noted that “this will lead to the adoption of countermeasures.” Later, the AFP agency reported that these were air-launched SCALP-EG cruise missiles, while Reuters clarified that some of them had already been delivered, with a total of 50 of these missiles.
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