US says it's not sending Kyiv rockets that can strike inside Russia
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WASHINGTON/KHARKIV • •The United States won't be sending Ukraine rocket systems that can reach into Russia, President Joe Biden said yesterday.
The comments followed reports that the Biden administration was preparing to send advanced long-range rocket systems to Kyiv for its fight against Russia.
"We're not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems" that can reach into Russia, Mr Biden told reporters after arriving back at the White House after a weekend in Delaware.
Ukrainian officials have sought a longer-range system called the Multiple Launch Rocket System, or MLRS, that can fire a barrage of rockets hundreds of miles away.
Responding to the news, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev said yesterday that Washington's decision on the rocket systems was "rational".
CNN and The Washington Post reported on Friday that the Biden administration was leaning towards sending that and another system, the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, known as Himars, as part of a larger military aid package to Ukraine. It was not clear which system Mr Biden was referring to in his remarks.
The Ukrainian government has urged the West to provide it with more longer-range weapons in order to turn the tide in the war, now in its fourth month.
Meanwhile, Russian forces are regrouping to resume their offensive in the direction of the Sloviansk region, while also seeking to encircle Severodonetsk city, Ukraine's defence ministry spokesman said yesterday.
Ukrainian forces, however, had some success in advancing towards the coastal areas where Russian forces took defensive positions, he added.
"The Russians are advancing into the middle of Severodonetsk. The fighting continues. The situation is very difficult," the Luhansk regional governor Sergiy Gaiday said in a statement on social media.
After failing to capture Ukraine's capital Kyiv in the early stages of the war, Russia has shifted its focus to the eastern Donbas region and is attempting to consolidate areas under its control.
"Severodonetsk's critical infrastructure is destroyed and 60 per cent of damaged residential buildings cannot be restored," Mr Gaiday said on Telegram. He added that three doctors in the area were reported missing after their vehicle was discovered badly damaged.
Severodonetsk, with a pre-war population of around 100,000 people, is one of several urban hubs that lie on Russia's path to capturing the Luhansk region, a key objective of Moscow's military.
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
