Biden Moving To Send Long-Range Ballistic Missiles To Ukraine

President Biden has just upped the ante on Ukraine aid while continuing to press House Republicans to approve the gargantuan war spending bill and its $61 billion for Kiev. Even while it’s clear Ukraine forces are being beaten back from the front lines, NBC reports this week that Biden is now closer to approving longer-range missile systems, which are capable of striking deeper into Crimea and Russian territory. 

“After months of requests from Ukrainian officials, the Biden administration is working toward providing Ukraine with powerful new long-range ballistic missiles, according to two U.S. officials,” the report says.

Image source: Lockheed Martin

The advanced weapon system in question here is the long-range Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with a range of nearly 200 miles, significantly beyond the HIMARS systems which were already long ago provided. The HIMARS in Ukraine’s possession are commonly estimated to reach 50-60 miles.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba strongly suggested progress was made on the issue during his meeting with Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Munich this weekend. “I just came here from a meeting with Secretary Blinken,” Kuleba had said Saturday. “I spent a very good part of the time arguing in favor of ATACMS.”

A US official told NBC that ATACMS “would allow Ukraine to strike farther inside the Russian-held Crimean Peninsula.”

That Biden administration officials are openly boasting that this would be a motivating factor in providing the long-range missiles takes the world into highly dangerous territory, and stumbling further toward WW3.

The thinking still reflects the claim that Russia seeks to expand the war beyond Ukraine and into Europe. Kiev and its closest allies have been advancing this narrative hard of late, especially while trying to get Washington funds unblocked. For example in the wake of the fall of Avdiivka:

“The era of peace in Europe is over,” Dmytro Kuleba, Ukrainian foreign minister, told those present.

“And every time Ukrainian soldiers withdraw from a Ukrainian town because of the lack of ammunition, think of it not only in terms of democracy and defending the world-based order, but also in terms of Russian soldiers getting a few kilometers closer to your towns.”

Of course, the pro-escalation pundits have been out there pushing this narrative hard…

If Biden is serious about living up to his words, there are 3 steps to take. Send long-range fires like ATACMs and fighter jets to Ukraine now. Seize the billions in Russian assets and get them to Ukraine now. The GOP cannot obstruct these actions, only cowardice can. https://t.co/qkM6NWyba5

— Garry Kasparov (@Kasparov63) February 16, 2024

Putin has already long accused the West of supplying the very weapons now more frequently being used to attack inside Russian territory. Missiles, drones, and mortars have been raining down on the Belgorod region for months now, and on oil and industrial facilities. It’s perhaps only a matter of time before a major incident involving direct NATO-Russia hostilities.