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The US will send Ukraine advanced rocket systems to defend itself against Russia as the war drags on, President Joe Biden said Tuesday.
In an op-ed article published in The New York Times, Biden cited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's remarks that the war will "only definitively end through diplomacy," saying Washington sent weaponry to strengthen Kyiv at the negotiating table.
"That's why I've decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine," he wrote.
The advanced weaponry will include Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger antiaircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition, said the president.
Biden reiterated that his administration is not seeking a war between NATO and Russia, nor the ouster of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
"So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces," he said. "We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia."
On concerns about the use of nuclear weapons, the president assured that there is no indication of intention by Russia.
"Let me be clear: Any use of nuclear weapons in this conflict on any scale would be completely unacceptable to us as well as the rest of the world and would entail severe consequences," he added.
According to UN estimates, at least 4,113 civilians have been killed and 4,916 injured in Ukraine since the war began on Feb. 24, with the true toll believed to be much higher.
Over 6.8 million people have fled to other countries, while more than 7.7 million have been internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency. -
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