Biden administration explains why they oppose long-range strikes deep into Russia – media

The US Intelligence Committee (IC) and the Department of Defense (DoD) believe that allowing Ukraine to launch long-range strikes into Russian territory will bring Kyiv more problems than benefits.

According to the  Fox News's source, an analysis by the IC and the DoD showed that allowing long-range strikes "would not have a strategic impact or would not change the course of the war".

One of the reasons cited by Fox News is that more than 90% of Russian aircraft have been redeployed beyond the 300-kilometre range of ATACMS missiles. Another is that Ukraine has few of these missiles, and the US Army has few available in its warehouses.

The source also noted that Russia is a "nuclear power capable of doing very bad things both to Ukraine and to the US", referring to the wave of sabotage that has been reported in recent months.

"It would be irresponsible if we didn’t take into account what Russia would do," the White House official said.

He also stressed that concerns about escalation were not the only factor driving Joe Biden's decision. According to US intelligence, in the event of a policy change, Russia will simply redeploy all assets beyond the range of ATACMS.

Ukraine argues that long-range missiles can prevent Russia from using guided aerial bombs. A number of US lawmakers have stepped up pressure on Biden to unlock the long-range missile capability.

Last month, the US president hinted at the possibility of lifting the relevant restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons, saying that his administration was "working on this issue".

At the same time, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin supported the US restrictions on Ukraineʼs long-range strikes with Western weapons and insisted that it can defeat Russia even without such a capability.