Washington: As debates continue over whether Ukrainian forces should use Western-provided weaponry to target deeper into Russia, the Biden administration is gearing up to deliver a significant aid package to Ukraine in the coming weeks.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan announced on Saturday that President Joe Biden will meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy later this month to discuss further assistance for Kyiv. Sullivan described this upcoming aid as “substantial.”
“I do think we need a comprehensive strategy for success in this war, and that is what President Zelenskyy says he is bringing,” Sullivan said.
Sullivan’s comments were made via video link during the Yalta European Strategy conference in Kyiv, as reported by Al Jazeera. “So we are very much looking forward to sitting down and talking that through, and President Biden is eager for that conversation,” he added.
Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022, the conflict has endured for over 25 months. Recently, Ukrainian forces have struggled as Russia has advanced towards Pokrovsk, a crucial transit hub in eastern Ukraine. Sullivan noted that these developments are of “unique concern.”
The White House advisor also mentioned that Biden aims to position Ukraine as effectively as possible for the remaining months of his presidency. Biden, who is not seeking reelection, will leave office in January. Sullivan emphasized, “President Zelenskyy has said that ultimately this war has to end through negotiations, and we need them to be strong in those negotiations.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned on Thursday that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western long-range weapons would signify direct Western involvement in the conflict, altering its “essence and nature.”
Ukrainian President Zelenskyy has been urging the Biden administration and other Western allies to approve long-range missile strikes into Russia, seeking to pressure Moscow into ending the conflict. In response to Western statements regarding Ukraine’s potential use of long-range weapons, Putin asserted, “What we are seeing is an attempt to substitute notions. Because this is not a question of whether the Kiev regime is allowed or not allowed to strike targets on Russian territory. It is already carrying out strikes using unmanned aerial vehicles and other means.”
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He further claimed, “But using Western-made long-range precision weapons is a completely different story. The fact is that—I have mentioned this, and any expert, both in our country and in the West, will confirm this—the Ukrainian army is not capable of using cutting-edge high-precision long-range systems supplied by the West. They cannot do that.”
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Putin warned that allowing Ukraine to utilize long-range missiles would mean direct Western involvement in the conflict and vowed that Russia would respond accordingly. “If this decision is made, it will mean nothing short of direct involvement—it will mean that NATO countries, the United States, and European countries are parties to the war in Ukraine. This will mean their direct involvement in the conflict, and it will clearly change the very essence, the very nature of the conflict dramatically,” he said.
