Sen. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has urged the Biden administration not to give Ukraine permission to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to attack targets deep inside Russian territory, although no decision has yet been made on their use.
“Secretary Blinken, President Biden, STOP! Stop this reckless escalation. I say this not as a political partisan, but simply as a member of the world,” Kennedy posted on his X Channel next to a video of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Kennedy recently gave up an independent presidential bid to back Republican candidate Donald Trump, who wants to end continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.
In his post, Kennedy shared a video of Putin reacting to the possibility of Western weapons being used on sites inside Russia, saying the Russian president would “take appropriate decisions depending on the threat.”
Ukraine has been lobbying hard to lift a ban on the use of US and UK missiles to target Russian territory, fearing that the use of US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles would escalate the conflict.
George Beebe, a former director of the CIA’s Russia analysis department, told Newsweek that the risks of giving Ukraine the ability to strike deep into Russia far outweigh the potential benefits.
“There is little reason to believe that the provision of these air-launched cruise missiles would significantly increase Ukraine’s chances of winning a war,” he said.
“This has become a war of attrition, and Russia has a huge advantage over Ukraine in terms of population and military production.”
“Russia is undermining Ukraine’s ability to bring well-trained, well-equipped forces into combat, and acquiring air-launched cruise missiles will not change that,” added Beebe, director of the Grand Strategy Program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible National Strategy.
But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that the country needs long-range and air defense capabilities “to protect lives and our people.”
Meanwhile, supporters of the move say the uncertainty about Ukraine’s ability to use long-range weapons plays into Putin’s hands. Former US special representative for Ukraine negotiators Kurt Volker told the BBC that Putin’s comments were motivated by an interest in “deterring us from acting.” New NATO members Sweden and Finland said on Friday they had permission to use weapons provided by Ukraine for long-range attacks.
After British Prime Minister Starmer and President Joe Biden met in Washington on Friday, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said no announcement had been made about any moves.
Biden said earlier this week that he was “working through” Kiev’s request to use long-range missiles, and previous reports by Politico and The Guardian suggested restrictions from the US and UK would be lifted.
Starmer said the UK and US had reached a “strong position” but suggested a final decision on Storm Shadow had been deferred to this month’s UN General Assembly.
Newsweek has reached out to the White House and the State Department for comment.