Biden: The US did not send Ukraine missiles to target Russia

US President Joe Biden speaks at the White House on May 30 – Photo: REUTERS

Speaking to reporters at the White House on May 30, Biden said: “We will not send Ukraine missile systems” that can reach Russia.

According to Reuters news agency, Ukrainian officials have asked the United States to provide the country with a multiple launch rocket system (MLRS) capable of firing a salvo of rockets hundreds of kilometers away.

Before that, on May 27, CNN and newspaper Washington Post reported that the Biden administration was leaning toward sending MLRS and another system called the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) as part of a larger military aid package to Ukraine.

It’s not clear what system Biden was referring to in his May 30 statement, according to Reuters.

Kiev authorities have urged the West to provide more long-range weapons to the country as the conflict with Russia has entered its fourth month. Many times high-ranking Ukrainian politicians have frankly said that if they had obtained powerful weapons, the situation of war would have changed rapidly.

In response, the deputy chairman of the Russian Security Council, Dmitry Medvedev – former President and former Prime Minister of Russia, said Washington’s decision not to send missile systems that could reach Moscow was “reasonable”. .

The Kremlin has warned that any country that supplies advanced weapons to Ukraine will face serious consequences.

On May 28, Russia’s ambassador to the US, Anatoly Antonov, also said that Russia had repeatedly warned the US through diplomatic channels that providing arms to Ukraine would significantly increase the risk of escalation of the war.

At the time, Antonov said Moscow hoped Washington would be wise in its plan to deliver long-range missiles to Ukraine.