- Biden says the US will not give Ukraine long-range rocket systems that could hit Russia.
- The United States is expected to approve the transfer of MLRS long-range rocket launchers.
- Biden was not specific about the exact systems, seeming to leave open the possibility of a transfer.
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President Joe Biden said on Monday that the US would not supply Ukraine with long-range rocket systems that could hit Russian territory, Reuters reported.
“We will not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could attack Russia,” Biden told Reuters reporter Steve Holland when asked about his position.
Biden did not explain which specific long-range rocket systems the U.S. had ruled out sending. Ukraine has said that long-range weapons are its most urgent request from the Allies.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.
Several reports last week detailed that the United States was preparing to approve the transfer of MLRS rocket launchers to Ukraine, which have a maximum range of more than 180 miles.
Biden’s response was unclear if this transfer could continue.
Speaking at a G7 summit earlier this month, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on the West to provide him with two specific types of long-range weapons.
“Ukraine must receive all the weapons and all the defense equipment that will allow the defeat of tyranny, in particular the M142 HIMARS and M270 MLRS multi-launch rocket systems,” he said.
The U.S. has a wide selection of long-range missile systems, including the 190-mile MGM-140 ATACMS.
Last week, the Ukrainian military said it needed weapons “in the style of NATO MLRS” “immediately” to combat Russian advances.
The United States is trying to keep as small a footprint as possible in its attempts to help Ukraine defeat Russia, so as not to upset President Vladimir Putin.
Dmitry Medvedev, vice-president of the Russian Security Council and former Russian president, wrote to the Telegram on Monday suggesting that Biden make his statement on long-range weapons because he knew Russia would launch a retaliatory attack on the United States.
“The Russian Armed Forces would have carried out their threat and hit the center of these criminal decisions. Some of them are not in Kyiv at all. What happens next, needless to say …” he wrote.