Biden: The U.S. will not send Ukraine missile systems that can reach Russia

President Joe Biden told reporters on Monday that the U.S. would not supply Ukraine with missile systems capable of reaching Russian territory.

The statement came amid requests by official Kiev to provide Ukraine with multiple launch rocket systems, or MLRS, which have a combat range of hundreds of kilometers.

Earlier, U.S. officials said that supplies of such weapons were being considered.

Last Friday, U.S. media, citing its sources, reported that the Biden administration is leaning toward sending MLRS as well as highly mobile artillery rocket systems, known as HIMARS, as part of a larger military aid package to Ukraine.

In addition, the New York Times wrote about the possibility of deliveries of M31 GMLRS (Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System) missile systems, a high-precision satellite guided MLRS, the missile set of which approximately corresponds to a 500-pound aircraft bomb in terms of the amount of explosives.

The radius of action of such a system is about 65 km, which, according to the newspaper, far exceeds the range of any artillery that Ukraine uses today.

Reuters notes that it is not clear which missile systems President Biden had in mind when asked by journalists.

The Ukrainian government has repeatedly called on the West to provide it with longer-range weapons to turn the tide of the war, which is now in its fourth month.