The Joe Biden administration has agreed to send Ukraine advanced rocket and weapons systems to face Russia.
Ukrainian officials have been pushing for more advanced rocket systems, such as the Multiple Launch Rocket System (MLRS), known as HIMARS (High Mobility Rockets System), which have a range of 83 to 185 miles and are expected to be included in the latest package.
President Biden said Tuesday, May 31 that the United States is sending “more advanced rocket systems and munitions” as part of the latest weapons package for Ukraine, but stressed that the US is not enabling the Ukrainians to strike outside their own border.
The package is the 11th one approved so far and will include helicopters, tactical vehicles, Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, and other advanced weapons.
“We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table,” the president wrote in an op-ed for the New York Times on Tuesday.
“That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.”
Biden said earlier in the week that he would not send “rocket systems that can strike into Russia,” a point he emphasized in Tuesday’s op-ed.
“We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders,” Biden wrote.
“We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”
The latest weapons package draws from a nearly $40 billion bill Congress passed last month that will provide military, economic, and humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.
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