Biden rules out sending rocket systems 'that can strike into Russia' to Ukraine

US President Joe Biden said Washington would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that can strike well inside Russian territory

US President Joe Biden said Washington would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that can strike well inside Russian territory

US President Joe Biden said Monday he would not send rocket systems to Ukraine that could hit targets well inside Russian territory, despite urgent requests from Kyiv for long-range weapons. 

"We are not going to send to Ukraine rocket systems that can strike into Russia," Biden told reporters in Washington. 

Kyiv has asked the United States for mobile batteries of long-range rockets, the M270 MLRS and the M142 Himars, which can launch multiple rockets at the same time with a range of up to 187 miles (300 kilometers), eight times or more the distance of artillery in the field. 

The MLRS "is really the weapon that we badly need," Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said last week at the World Economic Forum in the Swiss Alps, where he pressed Western allies for heavy weapons.

The United States earlier in May announced another $40 billion assistance package amid speculation it included such weapons. 

"Apparently, once again the Biden Administration is intimidated by Russian rhetoric," he said on Twitter.

Since failing to capture Kyiv in the war's early stages, Russia's army has narrowed its focus and has been hammering cities with relentless artillery and missile barrages as it seeks to consolidate its control.

Ukrainian forces pushed back over the weekend in the southern region around Kherson as Zelensky seeks to crank up already hefty international pressure on Moscow.

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Originally published as Biden rules out sending rocket systems 'that can strike into Russia' to Ukraine