Biden not allowing Ukraine to use U.S. weapons for deep strikes against Russia to avoid escalation - Kirby

U.S. President Joe Biden does not allow Ukraine to use U.S.-provided weapons to launch deep strikes into Russian territory, as he is concerned about a possible escalation.

U.S. National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said this in a comment to Ukrinform on the sidelines of the NATO summit.

Asked why the U.S. still does not allow Ukraine to strike all military targets inside Russia, Kirby said that Biden had agreed to allow the Ukrainians to use American weapons for cross-border strikes amid imminent threat and that no changes had been made so far.

He said the U.S. was discussing what Ukrainians need every day, including today.

At the same time, according to Kirby, the U.S. president should also be rightly concerned about the potential escalation of this conflict.

Asked whether the Ukrainians can strike Russian military airbases, Kirby said he did not have to make any political statements today and added that the U.S. still did not allow the use of U.S.-made weapons for deep strikes against Russia.

He said that the first obligation of NATO countries is to help Ukraine achieve success on the battlefield and then make sure that after the war ends, the Ukrainians have a powerful defense industrial base and defense capabilities.

According to him, countries such as the United States will continue to support Ukraine because the Ukrainians will have a long border with Russia, and then work to get them on the path to NATO membership.

However, as in any democracy, there are things that need to be done in terms of governance, political reform, all those things that the U.S. will work on with Ukraine, Kirby said. He also added he was sure that the Ukrainians would achieve this.

The NATO summit was held in Washington on July 9-11. President Volodymyr Zelensky led the Ukrainian delegation at the summit.