Earlier this year, Ukraine began using longer-range versions of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against Russia. However, U.S. officials have imposed restrictions on Kyiv’s use of these weapons, fearing that strikes on certain targets deep within Russia — including Moscow — could escalate the conflict. In a letter dated Sept. 9, Republican congressmen called on Biden to remove the remaining limits on Ukraine’s use of ATACMS. The letter was sent ahead of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Kyiv, where Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is seeking approval to expand attacks further into Russian territory. “Your decision earlier this year to partially lift the total ban on Ukrainian strikes on targets in Russia with U.S.-provided weapons was welcome but came too late,” the letter reads. “Reports indicate that this change in policy helped blunt Russia’s offensive in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. However, if the change had come sooner, Russia’s offensive against Kharkiv might have been prevented altogether, which in turn would have allowed Ukraine to focus on critical parts of the frontline in the Donetsk region.” The letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas), House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Mike Turner (R-Ohio), House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Europe Chairman Tom Kean (R-N.J.), House Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense Chairman Ken Calvert (R-Calif.), and Commissioner of the Helsinki Commission Representative Richard Hudson (R-N.C.). The letter arrived one day after Ukraine launched its largest drone attack on Moscow, resulting in the death of at least one person and injuries to several others. Ukrainian use of ATACMS has been a "red line" for Russian President Vladimir Putin, who has threatened consequences for crossing it. “The Biden-Harris administration’s senseless restrictions, combined with the longstanding slow-rolling of critical weapons approvals and deliveries, are hindering Ukraine’s ability to bring this war to a victorious conclusion,” the letter stated. “It is far past time the administration reverses course and lifts the remaining restrictions on Ukraine’s use of U.S.-provided weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia.” A day after the letter was sent to the White House, Biden indicated that his administration was still determining whether and when the U.S. would lift the restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons. In recent days, the U.S. and U.K. accused Iran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia for use against Ukraine. Satellite images show a Russian cargo ship, suspected of carrying Iranian missiles, docked at a port in Astrakhan. The ship had previously been in Iran’s Amirabad port. The delivery of Iranian missiles has intensified the debate over whether Ukraine should be allowed to use Western-supplied long-range missiles to strike targets within Russia. "That is very dangerous," said U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. “As we see the Russians working with their partners, we see this transfer of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia, it is important that we do more to support Ukraine to win in their efforts.” Lammy is scheduled to meet with Blinken and Zelenskyy in Kyiv. The U.K. is also reconsidering its own restrictions on the use of British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles by Ukraine to strike Russian territory.A group of Republican lawmakers is urging the Biden administration to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of U.S. long-range missiles to strike deeper into Russian territory.
