Biden Announces U.S. Will Not Supply Ukraine with Longe-Range Rockets

by | May 31, 2022

Biden Announces U.S. Will Not Supply Ukraine with Longe-Range Rockets

by | May 31, 2022

firing high mobility artillery rocket systems

President Biden on Monday told reporters that the U.S. will not send Ukraine rocket systems that can strike targets inside Russian territory.

“We’re not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that strike into Russia,” Biden told reporters.

Biden’s comments came after several media outlets reported that the administration was leaning towards providing Ukraine with Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS), which Ukrainian officials have been requesting for months.

A White House official later clarified Biden’s comments and said sending the MLRS is still on the table, but that it wouldn’t have long-range capabilities. “MLRS is under consideration, but nothing is on the table with long-range strike capabilities,” the official said.

If equipped with long-range munitions, the MLRS can reach targets up to 190 miles away. But the U.S. could potentially send Kyiv the MLRS with shorter-range rockets that can reach between 20-45 miles, which would still be the longest range weapons given to Ukraine. The shells fired by the M777 Howitzers the US has been shipping to Ukraine can hit targets about 15 miles away.

After the reports came out that the U.S. was considering giving Ukraine long-range rockets, Russian officials warned strongly against the move. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said it would be a “serious step towards unacceptable escalation.”

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, who currently serves as the deputy head of Russia’s Security Council, welcomed Biden’s decision not to give Ukraine weapons that can hit Russia, calling it “rational.”

The U.S. is expected to announce a new weapons package for Ukraine soon that will be taken from the new $40 billion aid package Biden recently signed into law.

This article was originally featured at Antiwar.com and is republished with permission.

Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com. Follow him on Twitter @decampdave.

View all posts

Our Books

Shop books published by the Libertarian Institute.

libetarian institute longsleeve shirt

Our Books

cb0cb1ef 3fcb 417d 80d8 4eef7bbd8290

Recent Articles

Recent

TGIF: Magna Carta Day

TGIF: Magna Carta Day

I wrote this in 2015 to mark the 800th anniversary of Magna Carta, or Great Charter. In light of current events—featuring a president who aspires to unchecked power, despairs of the rule of law, and has discussed suspending the right of habeas corpus—the posting of...

read more
Default Now!

Default Now!

As of April 2025, the U.S. national debt stands at a staggering $36.2 trillion. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that net interest payments on this debt alone will reach $952 billion in fiscal year 2025—nearly a trillion dollars just to service past...

read more

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This