WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – As the United States and its allies provide Ukraine with increasingly sophisticated weapons, Washington has held talks with Kyiv on the danger of escalation if it strikes deep into Russia, officials told Reuters. Americans and diplomats.
Backstage discussions, which are very sensitive and have not been reported before, do not impose explicit geographical restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukrainian forces. But talks have sought to reach a shared understanding of the risk of escalation, three U.S. officials and diplomatic sources said.
“We have concerns about climbing and we still don’t want to set geographical boundaries or tie our hands too much with the things we’re giving them,” said one of the three U.S. officials, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Register now for FREE and unlimited access to Reuters.com
Sign up
The administration of President Joe Biden and the US allies have become increasingly willing to provide Ukraine with longer-range weapons, including M777 shells, while Kyiv fights against Russia’s most successful invasion forces. which had been predicted by U.S. intelligence officials. The Pentagon’s announcement last week that Denmark would supply Harpoon anti-missile missiles to Ukraine would further expand Kyiv’s reach.
After initially predicting that Ukraine would be invaded by the much larger Russian army, U.S. officials have recently expressed hope that Ukrainian forces can win the war and want to arm them to do so.
U.S. officials say the Biden administration is even considering supplying Kyiv with the M142 High Mobility Artillery (HIMARS) rocket system, which, depending on ammunition, can be hundreds of miles away. .
But US intelligence has also warned of growing risks, especially given a mismatch between Russian President Vladimir Putin’s apparent ambitions and the performance of his army. The next few months could put the war on a “more unpredictable and potentially escalating trajectory,” National Intelligence Director Avril Haines said in a Senate hearing this month.
The United States, by design, is not fighting Russian forces directly, but Pentagon commanders are in constant contact with Ukrainian leaders and have provided critical information that has allowed Ukraine to target Russian troops on the ground and at sea, according to US officials.
A second U.S. official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said Washington and Kyiv had a shared “understanding” of the use of certain Western-provided weapons systems.
“So far, we’ve been on the same page about thresholds,” the official said.
The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned the West that supplying weapons to Ukraine capable of attacking Russian territory would be “a serious step towards an unacceptable escalation,” according to statements released on the ministry’s website on Thursday. ‘Russian Foreign Affairs.
MILITARY OBJECTIVES
Russia has attacked the capital of Ukraine and places far from the front lines. But Ukraine has not pledged to attack a large Russian city or carried out attacks inside Russia, even against military targets such as arms manufacturers or supply centers far from the border.
Russian officials have repeatedly accused the Ukrainian army of carrying out cross-border attacks, including on a fuel tank in the city of Belgorod. He justified his invasion of Ukraine in part by the premise that Ukraine was a threat to Russia, an idea that Kyiv and the West reject.
In what a diplomatic source said was a clear indication from Kyiv that it understood the sensitivity of any cross-border action, Ukraine has refused to confirm any involvement in these alleged incidents. The United States has not commented.
U.S. sensibilities came to light in April, when the Pentagon cited warnings from U.S. intelligence about the risk of a military escalation between Russia and the NATO alliance if the U.S. The United States was transferring fighter jets to Ukraine.
Democrat Representative Jason Crow, who visited Ukraine last month and spoke with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said he was not worried about the risk of escalation and that Ukraine would use the weapons provided in the south.
Three months after the conflict, Russia is focusing its campaign in the south after a failed attempt to capture Kyiv.
“We should reiterate, as we do in all cases, that these weapons should be used responsibly,” said Crow, a veteran Army ranger who is a member of the Armed Services Committee and the Standing Select Committee. of House Intelligence in Congress.
“But I’m less concerned with the issue of climbing than making sure the Ukrainians can win now and push back Russian forces.”
The first US official said that Ukraine had many targets to strike within Ukraine, and this was the goal of obtaining longer-range weapons from Western allies.
Douglas Lute, a former U.S. ambassador to NATO and a retired lieutenant general of the army, agreed that Ukraine has enough Russian targets within Ukraine to worry about.
But he acknowledged the risk of escalation and political division within NATO should Ukraine reach Russia.
“It would spark a divisive debate within the alliance. And, of course, the alliance doesn’t want that. And neither does Ukraine,” Lute told Reuters.
One question that remains is whether Ukraine could change its strategy if the war worsens, perhaps using the weapons provided by the United States in a way that was not initially intended.
“There could be scenarios where Ukrainians are in such a corner that they feel they have to climb even further, but we haven’t seen that yet,” the second US official said.
Register now for FREE and unlimited access to Reuters.com
Sign up
Report by Phil Stewart and Idrees Ali; Editing by Mary Milliken and Daniel Wallis
Our standards: Thomson Reuters’ principles of trust.