At least 20 House Democrats and five House Republicans are calling on President Joe Biden to lift restrictions on Kyiv’s use of American long-range weapons to strike deep inside Russia, according to a letter sent to the president on Sept. 10 obtained and seen by the Kyiv Independent.
The letter was sent around Congress in early September by Rep. Marcy Kaptur, co-chair of the bipartisan Ukraine Caucus.
"We write to request that you immediately end your Administration’s limitations on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons provided by the U.S. and other NATO allies to strike legitimate military targets inside Russia," the two-page letter reads.
The Biden Administration's restrictions on Kyiv are at odds with the limitations Washington has on its military and other allies using American weapons, like Israel, the Democratic-led bipartisan letter said.
Under the Biden administration’s current limitations, Kyiv can only use U.S.-provided missiles in limited cross-border strikes on Russian military targets used to launch attacks into Ukraine.
Ukraine’s now month-old incursion into Russia’s Kursk region, Rep. Kaptur wrote in the letter, has changed the nature of the war and in doing so called Russia’s bluff by testing to what extent the Kremlin would escalate if attacked. Washington’s fears of Russian escalation are yet to subside as it has not announced any changes to policy on Ukraine’s use of its weapons.
"The new offensive has also further demonstrated why the existing policy of limiting Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons to strike inside of Russia is unsustainable and inconsistent with the realities of this war," the letter reads.
Rep. Kaptur’s letter to President Biden goes on to say that relevant Russian military targets are identifiable and currently in the range of long-range weapons provided by NATO countries.
Elsa Court
On Sep. 6 at the Ramstein Air Base in Germany, where President Volodymyr Zelensky lobbied for more air defenses, U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said Ukraine has a lot of capability to use "UAVs and other things" to address the plethora of targets in Russia.
"As we look at the battlefield currently, we know that the Russians have actually moved their aircraft that are using the glide bombers beyond the range of ATACMS. So this is an interesting argument," Secretary Austin said, referring to Zelensky’s ask to strike deeper inside Russia.
"I think for the foreseeable future, we're going to make sure that we remain focused on helping them do those things that enable them to be effective in defending their sovereign territory."
Six House Republicans on foreign affairs and intelligence committees also sent a letter to President Biden on Sept. 10 calling for the administrations to lift remaining restrictions on the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).
Ninety percent of Russian aircrafts used to attack Ukraine are now beyond a 300-kilometer zone from the Ukrainian border, and thus, out of reach of ATACMS, the White House said on Sept. 4. Rep. Kaptur’s letter to President Biden did not specify how far into Russia the group would like Ukraine to be able to strike.
"(Ukraine) doesn’t have the assets of other places, NATO is critical to Ukraine’s success ultimately," Rep. Kaptur told the Kyiv Independent earlier in August.
A danger exists in allowing Russia to alter Europe’s borders, Rep. Kaptur added.
The Ukraine Caucus's letter came on the same day Secretary of State Antony Blinken confirmed Iran had supplied Russia with hundreds of ballistic missiles, calling it an escalation.
"We’ve warned Tehran publicly, we’ve warned Tehran privately, that taking this step would be a dangerous escalation," Blinken said on Sept. 10 in London. "Russia has now received shipments of these missiles."
Rep. Kaptur sees Russia’s alignment with Iran as a reason to up defense, not hold out.
"I know how vicious these enemies are, particularly in cahoots with one another, now Russia, Iran, China, North Korea," Rep. Kaptur told the Kyiv Independent. "That is not an equation I want to infect our country."
Rep. Kaptur and House Democrats aren’t alone in their call to President Biden. With nearly four months left in the White House, the Biden Administration has increasingly been called on to ease its restrictions on Kyiv.
In early September, Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly, who was a finalist for Kamala Harris’s running mate, broke with a previous position and said the U.S. needs to reconsider weapons restrictions.
"I think the Democratic party is a party that supports freedom," Rep. Kaptur said to the Kyiv Independent in August, when asked if the Democratic party was as united around support for Ukraine as it seems. "Our support is strong."
Oleg Sukhov
