Ukraine assured US it will not strike within Russia

Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday said Ukraine has given the U.S. strict assurances that it would not use American-delivered heavy weapons for strikes within Russia, part of efforts to avoid a wider conflict between Moscow, Europe and the U.S.

“Specifically with regard to weapons systems we provided, the Ukrainians have given us assurances that they will not use these systems against targets on Russian territory,” Blinken said during a press conference alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.

The secretary’s remarks followed President Biden on Tuesday evening announcing a drawdown of $700 million in advanced weapons for Ukraine, including rocket launchers that can reach a distance of nearly 50 miles, but with the strong caveat that the U.S. does not seek to provoke Moscow directly. 

“President Biden was very clear with [Russian President Vladimir Putin] about what the United States would do if Russia proceeded with its aggression, including continuing to provide security systems that Ukraine needs to defend itself against the Russian aggression,” Blinken said. 

“And it is Russia again that chose to launch this aggression, despite all of our efforts … They can end it at any time and we will avoid any concerns about miscalculations or escalation.”

Biden’s announcement of heavy weapons to Ukraine on Tuesday evening was his first use of presidential drawdown authority from the package of $40 billion of military, economic and humanitarian assistance for Ukraine provided by Congress. Biden signed the package into law last month.

The president made the announcement through a guest essay in The New York Times, in which he outlined the conditions of the assistance. “We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia … We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia,” Biden wrote.

The U.S. earlier provided nearly $14 billion in heavy weapons and other military assistance to Ukraine over the course of its more than three-month defensive war against Russia. It has also rallied a coalition of allies and partners to supplement military, economic and humanitarian assistance and increase NATO’s force posture along allied borders.

Congress passed the $40 billion aid package for Ukraine with the expectation that the fighting with Russia is expected to drag out, if not reach a stalemate, as Ukrainian forces seek to expel the Russian army from the south and east of the country, a more difficult battlefield where Russia has maintained a strong presence since it first invaded in 2014. 

Efforts for peace talks between Kyiv and Moscow have floundered amid the discovery of mass atrocities against Ukrainians uncovered with the retreat of Russian forces, although the U.S. has encouraged them.

Blinken on Wednesday said that the U.S. support for Ukraine’s military is a “continuation of a strategy that began even before Russia’s invasion.” 

“We move quickly to send Ukraine significant amounts of weapons and ammunition so that they can repel Russia’s aggression and in turn, can be in the strongest possible position at any negotiating table that may emerge,” he said.