The United States is considering the option of transferring weapons to Kyiv to strike at the annexed Crimea. The New York Times writes about it.
According to the publication, the White House came to this decision after several months of negotiations with Ukrainian officials. And if earlier the United States refused to help Ukraine with the shelling of the occupied peninsula due to fear of an escalation of the conflict, now this has changed. Also, the United States has ceased to fear that Russia will use nuclear weapons. The Biden administration decided that if Ukraine could show Russia that it was losing control of Crimea, it would strengthen Kyiv's position in future negotiations.
“Throughout the war, we have said that Crimea is Ukraine and Ukraine has the right to defend itself and its sovereign territory within its internationally recognized borders,” National Security Council spokeswoman Adrienne Watson said.
According to the NYT, US and Ukrainian officials are now discussing how to use the weapons already supplied by the US to strike the peninsula. Options for using the HIMARS MLRS and Bradley combat vehicles are being considered. The delivery of 50 Bradleys was announced earlier in January.
At the same time, it is emphasized that Biden is not yet ready to transfer long-range missile systems to Ukraine. Politico writes about the same. According to the publication, the United States is preparing another package of military assistance to Ukraine. It will include several Stryker armored personnel carriers, as well as GLSDB, ground-based small diameter bombs. They have a range of 150 km, can hit targets 70 km behind the launch vehicle.