Biden admits strikes inside Russia could draw US deeper into Ukraine conflict
US President Joe Biden has admitted that Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory with American-supplied weapons could escalate Western involvement in the conflict. However, the possibility of a direct clash with Russia is still very low, the US president has claimed.
Washington and several of its allies confirmed last week that Kiev is now allowed to use Western-supplied arms for attacks inside Russia. During an interview with ABC News on Thursday, Biden was asked if he thought this could draw the US and the wider West into the Ukraine conflict “in a much larger way.”
“It theoretically could, but it is unlikely,” the US president replied.
Biden clarified that Ukraine can use US-made weapons “only in proximity to the border [with Russia] when they [Russian weapons] are being used on the other side of the border to attack specific targets in Ukraine.”
“We’re not authorizing strikes 200 miles into Russia and we’re not authorizing strikes on Moscow, on the Kremlin,” he said.
On Wednesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin told the heads of international news agencies on the sidelines of the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum (SPIEF) that the US and its allies have basically confirmed “their direct participation in the war against Russia” by supplying more sophisticated arms to Ukraine and allowing their use inside Russian territory.
Moscow is well aware that the Ukrainians are unable to fire advanced weapons systems without intelligence and targeting information provided by their Western sponsors, Putin stressed. Further escalation by Kiev’s foreign backers could lead to “very serious problems,” he warned.
According to the Russian leader, Moscow could respond “asymmetrically” by supplying “similar weapons to regions of the world where they will be used against sensitive sites of these [Western] countries.”
