Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said his country would not hit targets within Russia if the West provided long-range weapons, placating a major concern for the United States.
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“No,” he said when asked if the Ukrainian military would go after targets across the border during a press conference for Danish media, according to Ukrainian Pravda. “We are not interested in shelling civilians. We are not terrorists to shell civilian neighborhoods. We are normal healthy people. We need these weapons to liberate our state.”
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President Joe Biden has provided more than $4.5 billion of military assistance to Ukraine over the three and a half months since the war started. As it has progressed, U.S. assistance has changed to meet the specific needs of the Ukrainians. With the second half of the war primarily in the eastern region known as the Donbas, Ukraine has requested heavy artillery and long-range missiles.
The Biden administration approved the transfer of four M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, a Lockheed Martin product known as HIMARS, roughly two weeks ago in the most recent aid. Dr. Colin Kahl, the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy, said the training would take roughly three weeks.
When announcing the assistance, Biden specifically noted, “We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” adding that the U.S. will not seek regime change in Russia “so long as the United States or our allies are not attacked.”
“We will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” Biden added.
Kahl said the Ukrainians gave defense leaders “assurances that they will use this system for defensive purposes only.”
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It’s unclear whether Zelensky’s comments will be enough to sway Biden, though there is reporting that the next tranche could be announced as soon as Wednesday, which would coincide with Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin’s meeting with roughly 50 foreign counterparts in their third such meeting to discuss the latest in Ukraine.
