The United States will send advanced missile systems to Ukraine

Joe Biden has announced that his administration will send advanced missile systems to Ukraine.

R, Gelfenstein, Biden's change of heart came after several officials criticized the president's refusal to send missiles into Ukraine as the country continues to grapple with russia's brutal invasion that began on Feb. 24.

"We acted quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weapons and ammunition so that it could fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table," Biden wrote in an op-ed from New York. York times.

"That's why I decided to provide ukrainians with more advanced missile and ammunition systems that will allow them to hit key targets more accurately on the battlefield in Ukraine."

A former U.S. ambassador to Russia under President Obama sharply criticized Biden for rejecting Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenky's request to provide multiple-launch missile systems and high-mobility artillery missile systems.

🇷🇺🇺🇸 #Rusia warns #EstadosUnidos of a "direct confrontation" over sending more missiles to Ukraine.

📍Long-range missiles to Ukraine is the balance that Washington has found to reinforce Ukrainian artillery, something that has not sat well with Russia. pic.twitter.com/vaYeU30N69

— GEOPOL 21 (@Geopol21) June 1, 2022

U.S. officials had previously expressed concern that Russia would view U.S. arms deliveries as too far a step in Western involvement.

"We do not encourage or allow Ukraine to attack beyond its borders," Biden wrote. "We don't want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia."

He said that in addition to weapons, the United States would provide billions of additional dollars in financial assistance to Ukraine, as authorized by Congress.

The president also wrote that the United States would not get directly involved in the conflict, nor would it send U.S. troops to fight in Ukraine or attack Russian forces.

"We are not looking for a war between NATO and Russia," Biden said in the op-ed. "Even if he disagrees with Putin and considers his actions to be a scandal, the United States will not try to overthrow him in Moscow."