Shaheen Statement Urging U.S. Government to Ease Restrictions on Ukrainian Use of Long-Range American-Provided Weapons in Russia
(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), a top member of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations (SFRC), Armed Services and Appropriations Committees, Chair of the SFRC Subcommittee on Europe and Regional Security Cooperation and Co-Chair of the U.S. Senate NATO Observer Group, issued the following statement calling for the U.S. to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of American-provided long-range weapons:
“As I’ve said for months: we must give Ukraine the weapons and capabilities it needs to defeat Russia, win back its sovereignty and protect its people. In light of Putin’s increasingly horrific attacks on civilian targets, it’s time to lift restrictions on the use of long-range U.S.-provided weapons to allow Ukraine to reach high value Russian military targets. On the expectation that the Ukrainian government has demonstrated how these new authorities fit within its broader campaign strategy, I hope that the Biden Administration will swiftly grant these permissions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces.”
Senator Shaheen has long advocated for additional aid to Ukraine and comprehensive legislation to address our national security interests. Earlier this year, Shaheen penned an editorial in the Boston Globe, urging her colleagues to support this agreement and continue to supply Ukraine with the aid they need to continue to repel Putin’s illegal invasion. In April, Shaheen spoke on the Senate floor urging action on the national security supplemental, which was passed and signed into law. She joined with her colleagues to introduce bipartisan legislation to reauthorize the Ukraine Democracy Defense Lend-Lease Act, which would allow the President to enter into lend-lease agreements with Ukraine to provide additional categories of military equipment to protect civilians.
On the heels of the 75th NATO Summit in Washington, D.C., Senator Shaheen led a delegation to London to meet with top U.S. military officials charged with direct oversight over U.S. security assistance, training and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. The group discussed the capabilities the Ukrainians need to reach targets and progress on training Ukrainians on advanced U.S. and allied equipment.
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