Democrats, Republicans want Biden to ease Ukraine weapons use in Russia

12/9/2024 5:56

        U.S. President Joe
        Biden's administration faced increasing pressure from both
        Republicans and his fellow Democrats on Wednesday to ease
        restrictions on how Ukraine can use weapons provided by the
        United States in its war against Russia.
        
        Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic chair of the Senate
        Foreign Relations Committee, noted recent Russian attacks that
        killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure, calling for quick
        action.
        
        "It’s time to allow Ukraine to be able to defend itself
        against these air attacks in a more effective way, and the
        United States needs to be the leader in that regard," Cardin
        said at a committee hearing.
        
        Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's pleas, the
        White House has been reluctant to allow U.S.-supplied weapons to
        be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could
        escalate the conflict.
        
        Republicans have called for such restrictions to be eased
        since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in
        February 2022, but influential congressional Democrats more
        recently also have been urging the policy shift.
        
        Lawmakers renewed their calls as U.S. Secretary of State
        Antony Blinken and British Foreign Minister David Lammy met top
        officials in Kyiv. Blinken told a news conference he had
        discussed long-range weapons and would brief Biden on what he
        had heard, but did not announce restrictions had been lifted.
        
        In a letter to Biden national security adviser Jake
        Sullivan, Representative Bill Keating, the top Democrat on the
        House Europe subcommittee, on Tuesday urged the administration
        to allow the use of American-made weapons against military
        targets in Russian territory.
        
        A group of congressional Republicans, including the chairs
        of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence
        committees, also released a letter on Tuesday calling for an end
        to the restrictions.
        
        Biden said on Tuesday that ending a ban on Ukraine's use of
        long-range weapons was being worked out.