President Joe Biden is suggesting that there are no plans for the U. S. to send long-range rocket systems to Ukraine, amid reports that the move is being considered.
Mr. Biden told reporters outside the White House on Monday that “we are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia.”
Dmitry Medvedev, deputy head of Russia's Security Council, said it was a “reasonable” decision. He said “otherwise, if our cities come under attack, the Russian armed forces would fulfill (their) threat and strike the centers where such criminal decisions are made.”
Medvedev added that “some of them aren't in Kyiv.” And he said “there is no need for a further explanation.”
Ukraine’s expectation
Pro-Western Ukraine has received extensive US military aid since Russia invaded its neighbor in late February, but says it needs long-range rockets equivalent to what Moscow's forces use.
Kyiv has asked the United States for mobile batteries of long-range rockets, the M270 MLRS and the M142 Himars, which can launch multiple rockets at the same time with a range of up to 187 miles (300 kilometers), eight times or more the distance of artillery in the field.
This could give Ukrainian forces the ability to reach, with great precision, targets far behind Russian lines, though it is unclear if that is their intent.
(With inputs from agencies)
