By Oliver Stuber
New hope for Ukraine. The USA will now deliver modern missile systems after all.
US President Joe Biden wrote in a guest article for the New York Times on Tuesday that the modern missile systems should enable the attacked country to hit “important targets on the battlefield in Ukraine” more precisely.
Important for the deal: Ukraine is said to have promised not to attack any targets on Russian territory with the weapons.
As recently as Monday, the US President had ruled out the delivery of weapons systems that could reach targets in Russia, causing confusion. According to his spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre, the president meant that no missiles would be supplied “for use outside the battlefield in Ukraine”.
Biden continues: “We don’t want a war between NATO and Russia.” But Moscow has to pay for its aggression.
The weapons are said to be the US-made HIMARS artillery system. The system is part of a $700 million package that also includes missiles, radar systems, Javelin anti-tank weapons, helicopters, vehicles and spare parts.
US President Joe Biden during a speech
“As long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not directly intervene in this conflict, either by sending American troops to Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces,” stressed the US President. “We do not encourage or enable Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia.”
The United States also did not try, according to Biden, to overthrow Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, if Russia does not pay a high price for attacking Ukraine, it could lead to the end of the rules-based international order and catastrophic consequences worldwide.
The US wants to deliver modern missile systems to Ukraine Photo: picture alliance / newscom | KEIZO MORI
According to Biden, there is currently no indication that Russia intends to use nuclear weapons in Ukraine. Russia’s “occasional nuclear saber-rattling rhetoric” is in itself dangerous and irresponsible.
And he sends a clear warning to Russian despot Vladimir Putin: “To be clear: Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict, no matter on what scale, would be completely unacceptable for us and the rest of the world and would have serious consequences .”
The USA wants to use the HIMARS system to deliver missiles that only have a range of around 80 kilometers – other missiles, on the other hand, can fly up to 300 kilometers. CNN had reported fears in the US government that Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory could result in retaliatory measures against the US.
