The United States is preparing to send missile systems to Ukraine that will more than double the range of its existing artillery and allow it to counter a Russian advance in the Donbas region. HMARS—or High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System—has a range of 50 miles, far beyond that of the M777 howitzers already being supplied to Kyiv by Western allies. The decisions to send the missiles was confirmed by President Joe Biden in a a New York Times opinion piece Tuesday night, with Biden saying they would “enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine” and leave Ukraine in a stronger position at the negotiating table. The administration has decided against sending even longer-range missile systems that could be used against targets deeper in Russian territory, so as not to escalate the conflict.
In the Times op-ed, Biden specified that the U.S. goal is “to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine.” He added that the U.S. will keep working with allies to employ sanctions against Russia and will send billions more to Ukraine in financial aid. While Biden said in March that he sought Putin’s removal from power, he clarified in the opinion piece that he is neither looking to end Putin’s rule nor start a war between NATO and Russia. As long as the U.S. is not attacked, he wrote, he will not send American troops to Ukraine. Biden vowed not to urge Ukraine to make territorial concessions and explained that he will continue seeking a negotiated end to the conflict. Addressing fears about nuclear war, the president said that he does not see any indication that Russia will use nuclear weapons and that doing so would “entail severe consequences.”
Read it at The New York Times
