Two top Ukrainian officials will present the Biden administration with a list of targets in Russia in face-to-face meetings this week, in an attempt to push the US to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons against Moscow, a Ukrainian lawmaker told CNN.
Andriy Yermak, the head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov, will meet with US officials “to try to concretely convince the White House to lift restrictions on long-range weapons strikes on Russian territory,” the lawmaker said.
In previous visits to Washington, he has met Secretary of State Antony Blinken and national security adviser Jake Sullivan.
Politico first reported that a list will be presented.
The visit comes after Ukraine launched a surprise offensive into Russian territory earlier this month.
‘No difference how deep the targets are’ “We consider strikes deep into Russian territory with American weapons no more provocative than strikes with American weapons on Russian territory near the border,” the Ukrainian lawmaker told CNN.
Previously, the US has allowed Ukraine to use American weaponry to strike Russian forces near the border as Kyiv defended itself against cross-border attacks.
But the Biden administration has refused to allow Ukraine to use US weapons for long-range strikes deep into Russian territory.
“We need to hear from him directly,” a senior US official told CNN.
Putin “is not only going to have to face the fact that there is a front line now within Russian territory that he’s going to have to deal with,” Cohen said.
According to a Ukrainian lawmaker who spoke to CNN, two senior Ukrainian officials will meet face-to-face with the Biden administration this week to present a list of Russian targets in an effort to pressure Washington to remove limits on US military use against Moscow.
The head of Ukraine’s Office of the President, Andriy Yermak, and Defense Minister Rustem Umerov are scheduled to meet with US officials, according to the lawmaker, “to try to concretely convince the White House to lift restrictions on long-range weapons strikes on Russian territory.”.
Without this, it will be challenging to turn the tide of the war in Ukraine’s advantage. They will offer a list of priority targets. “.
According to US officials, Umerov will meet Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on Friday, CNN reported. Who Yermak will meet is a mystery. He has previously visited Washington and met national security adviser Jake Sullivan as well as Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
Politico was the first to report that there will be a list.
President of Ukraine Volodomyr Zelensky reiterated on Wednesday that his country should be given permission to launch strikes deeper into Russia and that “lifting the restrictions on long-range strikes for Ukraine now” would hasten the end of the conflict “for Ukraine and the world as a whole.”. “.
In anticipation of former President Donald Trump’s victory in November, Kiev is stepping up its efforts to put pressure on the US, fearing that the US might withdraw its support for its war effort.
Following Ukraine’s unexpected attack into Russian territory earlier this month, the visit has taken place. Although a US official admitted earlier this month that the offensive was “not what we had in mind,” the operation in the Kursk region has so far been restricted to a box the US drew in Russia to which the use of American weaponry would be limited. “.
Since the Russian military has moved its valuable assets—such as military aircraft and control nodes—further away from the front lines, Kyiv has consistently pushed for the use of American and Western weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russia.
How deep the targets are doesn’t matter.
“We regard American-led strikes deep within Russian territory as no more provocative than American-led strikes on Russian territory close to the border,” the Ukrainian lawmaker stated to CNN. It doesn’t matter how deep the targets are; both are on Russian territory. “.
Rather, Ukraine has destroyed sophisticated Russian air defenses inside of occupied Crimea by using its long-range US weapons, such as Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS).
The US previously permitted Ukraine to use US weapons against Russian forces in the vicinity of the border as Kyiv defended itself against cross-border assaults. After gaining some new ground, Ukraine was able to slow the advance of Russian forces in the Kharkiv region, especially after the Biden administration relaxed some restrictions on the use of US weapons.
However, the Biden administration has rejected Ukraine’s request to use US weapons for long-range operations that penetrate deep into Russian territory.
“We have stated that the Ukrainians can utilize US security aid to protect themselves against cross-border assaults, or counterattacks,” stated Maj., the Pentagon press secretary. Chief Gen. Pat Ryder with a Tuesday. Regarding long-range, deep strikes into Russia, however, our strategy has not altered. “.
According to a senior US official who spoke with CNN, the Biden administration is happy about the involvement as it seeks to learn more about Ukraine’s tactics and how the incursion might alter the course of the war. From the US’s perspective, Zelensky would not have been able to execute such a move until the spring due to Ukraine’s challenges in recruiting and training soldiers.
According to a translation of his comments, Zelensky stated in public at a conference in Ukraine that the incursion is the first stage of a multi-phase effort dubbed a “powerful package of forcing Russia to end the war in a diplomatic way.”. Zelensky made reference to a more comprehensive endgame vision, which he plans to present to Biden, Harris, and possibly Trump in September. This strategy also appeared to catch the White House off guard.
A top US official told CNN, “We need to hear from him directly.”. “That kind of (private) conversation would be beneficial to have—he was talking about the terms of an endgame in public. “.
Prior to Ukraine’s Independence Day on August 23, Biden last spoke with Zelensky and announced the release of a fresh round of military aid.
It had become a grinding war of attrition with only small incremental gains seemingly possible for either side. However, earlier this month, the Ukrainians seized Russian land in Kursk, adding another layer of uncertainty to the conflict.
Putin had to make tough choices.
CIA Deputy Director David Cohen stated on Wednesday that although US officials anticipate that Russian President Vladimir Putin will eventually launch a counteroffensive to retake Kursk, “it will be a difficult fight for the Russians.”.
Because of this, Russia might have to make some tough choices about the deployment of its troops, which could present manpower shortages for him along the Ukrainian front. Meanwhile, Ukraine might have to deal with a similar problem in order to hold Kursk, which it now seems determined to do for at least some time.
According to a US military official in the area, Moscow will probably need three weeks to muster the necessary mass of forces in order for Russia to be able to drive out the Ukrainians in a three-to-one ratio.
According to several US and Western officials who spoke with CNN, the Russian president does not feel that the Ukrainian offensive crossed any sort of “red line” that would prompt him to act dramatically outside the parameters of conventional warfighting, such as deploying a tactical nuclear weapon, for example.
Nonetheless, Cohen and others stated that the battle for Kursk may have a substantial effect on the war’s overall strategic result, even though its exact impact is still unknown.
According to Cohen, Putin “will not only have to deal with the fact that there is a front line within Russian territory at this time.”. “He has to deal with the fallout in his own society from the loss of a portion of Russian territory. “.
Since the Ukrainian takeover of Kursk, sentiment toward Putin on Russian social media has been “deteriorating,” according to a recent analysis by the open-source intelligence company Filter Labs.
However, observers of Russia for a long time point out that Putin has already experienced some setbacks in terms of popularity in response to major “embarrassments” (such as the Ukrainian sinking of the Moskva or Wagner chief Yevgeny Prigozhin’s march on Moscow), and he has not been coerced or convinced to abandon his plans in Ukraine.
