Top Senate Democrat joins House Republicans in urging Biden to allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia

The top Democrat on foreign policy in the Senate is echoing calls from Republicans for President Biden to lift restrictions on Ukraine using American weapons to strike deep inside Russian territory.

Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Wednesday that “the time has come to ease restrictions on Ukrainians use of U.S.-provided weapons.”

Cardin’s support for lifting restrictions follows a letter sent Monday from six House Republicans — led by the chairs of the Foreign Affairs, Armed Services and Intelligence committees — calling for Biden to lift restrictions.

Biden said Tuesday that his administration was “working that out now” when asked if the U.S. would empower Ukraine to the use of American-provided long-range missiles. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv, where discussions about Ukraine’s use of American weapons are expected to be held. 

The administration has so far kept an embargo on the use of American-provided ATACMS to strike deep into Russia, even as permission has been given for strikes across the Russian border in relation to fighting near the Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. U.S.-provided ATACMS can have a striking range of nearly 200 miles.

Despite the limitations, Ukraine’s armed forces have demonstrated the ability to strike Russian targets in Moscow, the republic of Tatarstan and an air base in Murmansk — distances that range up to 1,000 miles away from the Ukrainian border.

Cardin, in his statement supporting the lifting of restrictions, said Russia’s increased targeting of Ukrainian civilian and energy infrastructure, civilian casualties and the hitting of a children’s cancer hospital last month is “nothing short of horrifying.” 

“Given these escalating attacks, the time has come to ease restrictions on Ukrainian’s use of U.S.-provided weapons. Greater flexibility to target Russian military assets will degrade Moscow’s ability to harm the Ukrainian people. The United States must act swiftly to grant these permissions.”