President Joe Biden announced on Thursday Washington is sending a second Patriot air defense system to Ukraine as part of the latest round of aid to Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the $225 million aid package “strong news.” But again he asked the United States to “lift all limitations for Ukrainian soldiers” to drive the Russian forces from its territory.
In the words of Zelensky’s chief political aide earlier Thursday, “Ukrainians will be happy when we win this war” by using the weapons it has to take the fight to airfields and depots deep inside Russia that support the Kremlin’s forces inside Ukraine.
The United States has put limits on firing weapons systems, like the long-range Army’s Tactical Missile System [ATACM], at targets deep inside Russia, not directly supporting military actions.
The Patriot system delivery and strategic and tactical air defense systems from other nations were partially in response to a devastating Russian missile attack on a children’s hospital in the Ukrainian capital that claimed 31 lives [when?]. They are also meant to blunt Moscow’s barrage of missiles and drones this summer against Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second largest city, as Russia tries to destroy its power grid and communication systems.
Both countries’ presidents noted this was the eighth dispersal of American assistance to Ukraine since Biden took office.
“We will stay with you, period,” Biden said as the meeting ended.
The target restriction, however, has been an issue hanging over U.S.-Ukrainian relations almost since the Russian invasion in February 2022. There are no restrictions against using weapons on Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, like Crimea. The province, also the headquarters of the Black Sea Fleet, was illegally seized in 2014.
At a NATO public forum session Thursday morning, Andriy Yermak, the equivalent of the president’s chief of staff and chief political adviser, said, “The partners have to take off any restrictions to use weapons, not just by Ukrainian territory, but have the possibility to answer [Russian attacks] including the territory of Russia.”
He added the Russians’ strike on the children’s hospital shows i there are no limits on targets Russia will strike. To lift the restrictions “would be really a game-changer,” he said.
At a press conference Wednesday, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, “Russia has attacked a neighbor [and] Ukraine has a right to self-defense.” In practical terms, he added this mean Ukraine can “strike military targets of aggressors.”
Stoltenberg added restrictions on weapon use and range vary from nation to nation. “The United States should speak for itself,” he added.
Zelensky said Ukraine wants the limitations lifted to hit military targets “precisely exactly where they are. …We … understand where they are” stationed and could be fired to “kill our children. For me, it’s not rhetoric. It’s a real plan.”
In its declaration agreed upon by all 32 members, the alliance pledged a minimum of $40 billion to Ukraine, the same amount as last year. But the allies committed themselves to support Ukraine over the long haul as the war continues.
The commitment is “to provide sustainable levels of security assistance for Ukraine to prevail, taking into account Ukraine’s needs, our respective national budget procedures, and the bilateral security agreements which Allies have concluded with Ukraine.”
At a NATO public forum Wednesday, Stoltenberg said those “national budget procedures” referred to approval by Congress and the different parliaments to meet their nation’s share of the expense.
Stoltenberg earlier this year called for $100 billion in aid.
Yermak pointed to the more than 20 bilateral aid agreements Ukraine has signed this year, including with all members of the G-7, as further support of Kyiv. The Group of Seven, or G-7, is an intergovernmental political and economic forum consisting of Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
“There will be more signings,” Zelensky said at a press conference with Stoltenberg Thursday.
Yermak said unlike last year, “We are satisfied with the results of the Washington summit” because NATO membership is now a question of when.
As Thursday’s final session was beginning, Stoltenberg said, “Ukraine’s future is in NATO. ” He added that the alliance welcomes Kyiv’s progress on reforms and that, as it continues “this important work, we will support you on your irreversible path to NATO membership.”
In their Thursday discussion, Biden and Zelensky also called for a peace summit later this year to come to a “just” end to the war.
