At a press briefing on 4 September 2024, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby reiterated the United States’ policy restricting Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles for deep strikes inside Russia.
Kirby strongly condemned the Russian missile attacks on Ukrainian cities that resulted in mass casualties, stating:
“We condemned it yesterday and we condemn it today what Mr. Putin’s doing hitting civilian infrastructure trying especially in advance of winter coming knocking out energy grids, it’s despicable. Unfortunately it’s a play right out of his Playbook it’s not something new he had hadn’t that he hadn’t done before.”
Despite Ukraine’s requests amid these attacks, Kirby maintained that the US policy regarding long-range strikes on Russian territory remains unchanged.
Kirby emphasized the continued US support for Ukraine’s defense capabilities, particularly in air defense.
“Nothing’s changed about our view that Ukraine should be able to use the tools it has available to it to defend itself and that’s why air defense continues to be a prominent issue in these security packages that we’re giving,” he stated
In justifying the ATACMS restrictions, Kirby claimed that 90% of the aircraft Russia uses for long-range strikes and glide bombs are located more than 300 kilometers from the Ukrainian border. He argued,
“The argument that somehow if you just give them an attack them an ATACM’ and tell them it’s okay that they’re going to be able to go in and hit the majority of the Russian aircraft and airbases that are in fact used to strike them is not true, it’s a misconception.”
When asked about potential future changes to this policy, Kirby responded, “I don’t have any policy changes to speak to today,” indicating that the current stance on ATACMS use is likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future.
Related:
- Ukrainian defense minister urges faster weapons delivery in UK after deadly Russian strike on Lviv, Poltava
- “All the strikes we could make, if we had US permission”: Ukraine’s 300-km deep plan for Russia
- Reuters: US close to agreeing on JASSM long-range missiles for Ukraine
- Ukraine presents target list, requests US lift ATACMS restrictions for deeper strikes in Russia
- Borrell pushes for unrestricted weapon use, condemns Russian attacks on Ukrainian civilians
- WSJ: Russia moves 90% of aircraft outside ATACMS range
- Hundreds of Russian military targets within range of Ukrainian ATACMS, ISW finds