USA leans towards providing Ukraine with weapons to strike in Crimea – media

WASHINGTON. Jan 19 (Interfax-Ukraine) – The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden is inclined to believe that Kyiv needs to be provided with weapons to strike at Crimea, the New York Times said, citing people familiar with the matter.

"After months of discussions with Ukrainian officials, the Biden administration is finally starting to concede that Kyiv may need the power to strike the Russian sanctuary, even if such a move increases the risk of escalation, according to several U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive debate," U.S. officials said.

It is noted that the softening of the U.S. position came after the Biden administration came to the conclusion that "if the Ukrainian military can show Russia that its control of Crimea can be threatened, that would strengthen Kyiv’s position in any future negotiations."

In addition, as stated by the interlocutors of the publication, fears that the Kremlin will strike back with tactical nuclear weapons have weakened, but the risks remain. Now the Biden administration is considering "to be one of its boldest moves yet" helping Ukraine attack the peninsula.

According to the newspaper, the U.S. officials are discussing with Ukrainian colleagues the use of American-supplied weapons for these purposes, from HIMARS missile systems to Bradley combat vehicles.

However, Biden is not yet ready to provide Ukraine with long-range missile systems that Kyiv would need to strike Russian targets on the peninsula, the newspaper said.