Senator Ben Cardin, Foreign Relations Chair, Wants to #LetUkraineStrikeBack
"Greater flexibility to target Russian military assets will degrade Moscow’s ability to harm the Ukrainian people."
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AMERICA CAN STOP THIS
As Russia commits outrageous atrocities against Ukraine, the Biden administration is preventing Ukraine from adequately defending itself.
Right now, Russia is refueling war planes, assembling armored vehicles, and expanding military bases mere kilometers from Ukraine’s border. Make no mistake! Russia’s forces have only one purpose: to take advantage of Biden’s hesitation and escalate Putin’s assault on Ukraine, killing more civilians.
Ukrainians are grateful to President Biden and the U.S. Congress for passing U.S. aid to Ukraine and for providing long-range missiles known as ATACMS. But the Biden administration has arbitrarily restricted Ukraine from using these tools to slow Russia's war machine.
The administration continues to cite "fear of escalation" as the primary reason for the restrictions.
Before he leaves office in January, President Joe Biden must finally lift these restrictions and permit Ukraine to strike all legitimate military targets in Russia so that Ukraine can properly defend itself.
In May, Washington allowed Ukraine to strike a limited number of Russian military targets that were actively attacking Ukraine from the other side of the Russian border. But that was not enough:
of the targets that Ukraine could be striking are still off-limits.*
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230 of 250 known Russian military or paramilitary targets currently in range of Ukrainian forces are off-limits due to U.S. policy.
At least 16 Russian military air bases are currently in range of Ukrainian ATACMS. They are all off-limits due to U.S. policy.
Source: Air Force of Ukraine
Here are six key reasons why the White House must permit Ukraine to strike all legitimate military targets in Russia with weapons supplied by the United States.
1
Russia is Vulnerable
Russia’s territory currently sits undefended.The Biden administration’s policy bans Ukraine from striking key military targets, so Russia can focus its war machine on Ukraine. If Ukraine could strike these areas, Russia would have to spread out its forces, making them less effective in Ukraine.
2
Fear of Escalation is Overblown
Russia often threatens to escalate the war in order to scare the West out of supporting Ukraine. However, these threats always ring hollow. Ukraine is already striking territory that Russia considers its own—like Crimea—using U.S.-supplied weapons.
3
The Status Quo Helps Russia
By not allowing Ukraine to strike critical targets, the U.S. enables Russia to focus all of its defenses on the front lines, making it harder for Ukraine to break through. If Ukraine could attack more targets, Russia would have to pull back some of its forces, creating more opportunities for Ukraine to win on the battlefield.
5
Immediate Impact
Non-lethal tools like sanctions are critically important to Ukraine’s victory but they take a long time to work—ATACMS take nearly minutes to destroy Russian military production sites.
4
Shoot the Archer, Not the Arrows
Russia continues to launch massive air raids with impunity, forcing Ukraine to constantly shoot down drones and missiles. Ukraine shouldn’t have to indefinitely defend itself—it would be more effective to let Ukraine target the sites where these attacks are coming from, like Russian military airfields and drone factories.
6
Improved Air Defense
Russia attacks Ukrainian cities with glide bombs that are hard to shoot down. The best way to defend against glide bombs is to hit the Russian airfields where these bombers are based and eliminate the planes before they drop their bombs.
I stated that the will of Congress is to provide them with the flexibility to use the weapons and aid we've already sent, so they can conduct the war as they think is necessary…And I support that. I believe that was Congress' intent.
Campaign Updates:
Please contact the White House and demand they lift all restrictions on striking legitimate Russian targets.
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202-456-1111
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between 11am-3pm Eastern Time.
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