Ukraine to hand Biden admin. list of potential Russian targets
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Top Ukrainian officials are set to meet with US officials to attempt to persuade the White House to lift restrictions on long-range weapons strikes on Russian territory.
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President Joe Biden meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office in the White House on September 21, 2023. (AP)
High-ranking Ukrainian officials will meet with the Biden administration this week to give a list of targets in Russia, a Ukrainian lawmaker divulged to CNN. The goal is to urge the US to ease limits on using American weaponry against Moscow.
Andriy Yermak, director of Ukraine's presidential office, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov will meet with US officials "to try to concretely convince the White House to lift restrictions on long-range weapons strikes on Russian territory," according to the legislator.
"They will provide a list of priority targets, without which it will be difficult to change the course of the war in Ukraine's favor."
US officials informed CNN that Umerov will meet with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday.
During prior travels to Washington, Yermak met with Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan.
US cannot be trusted over long-range weapon ban on Ukraine: Russia
Washington's claims of banning Ukraine from using US-supplied long-range weapons for deep strikes into Russian territory cannot be trusted, Moscow's ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov said last week.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky resumed calls with the US to allow Kiev's troops to use long-range weapons during its ongoing incursion in the Kursk Region.
However, last week, the Pentagon reiterated its stance of preventing the former Soviet nation from using the US-supplied ATACMS missiles, which have a range of up to 300km, for strikes inside Russian territory.
US officials “seem to be constantly teasing us by saying that today it is allegedly not allowed to use long-range systems to strike at Russian territory," Antonov told journalists on Friday, adding that "in reality, they are essentially preparing the ground to simply remove all existing restrictions, at a certain point."
The Russian envoy based his judgment on the US' previous support of Kiev during its war with Moscow, expressing his certainty to TASS that Ukraine will “fight with US-made [long-range] weapons against us,” adding, “Where exactly will it happen? We cannot say or foretell."
The ambassador described US President Joe Biden's administration as becoming unpredictable, highlighting, “There is no guarantee that the whole world will not change tomorrow when you and I wake up. How the Americans will behave in this situation is very hard to tell."
Antonov insisted that as a result, Russia must “act decisively, increasing our military-industrial potential, because only our army and navy will protect our country."
