The US is close to reaching an agreement on giving Ukraine cruise missiles that could hit targets deep inside Russia, Reuters reported on Tuesday, citing US officials.
The officials said the US is expected to include Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) in a weapons package that will be announced for Ukraine this fall. But first, there are technical issues to work through to ensure they can be fired by Ukraine’s Soviet-made fighter jets.
An older version of the JASSM can hit targets over 230 miles, and there are newer versions that can fly over 500 miles. Reuters said it was unable to establish which kind the US is considering sending to Ukraine. Providing the older, shorter-range version would put less strain on US military stockpiles.
The US officials said that providing the JASSMs could alter the conflict by putting more Russian territory in range of powerful precision-guided missiles, which they said was a big concern of the Biden administration.
The comments suggest the administration is preparing to give Ukraine the greenlight to launch long-range strikes inside Russian territory using US-provided missiles, which would mark another significant escalation of the proxy war and risk a major response from Moscow. Russia has said it’s altering its nuclear doctrine in response to Western escalations in Ukraine.
The US is allowing Ukraine to use US armored vehicles, missiles, and bombs in its Kursk offensive but still insists it won’t support long-range strikes, at least for the time being. A congressional staffer told Reuters that giving Ukraine JASSMs would increase the pressure on the US to lift all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of its weapons.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov was asked on Wednesday about the possibility of the US providing Ukraine with the JASSMs and said the US shouldn’t joke about Russia’s red lines.
“I won’t be surprised by anything – the Americans have already crossed the threshold they set for themselves. They are being egged on, and Zelenskiy of course sees this and takes advantage of it,” he said. “But they should understand – they are joking about our red lines here. They shouldn’t joke about our red lines.”