Opinion | Biden should allow Ukraine to strike back against Russia

With this overly cautious decision, Biden is allowing Russian President Vladimir Putin to buy time and wait for a possible change in U.S. leadership and policy. Instead, Biden should allow Ukraine to regain the upper hand before the November election – which in turn could improve his own political prospects.

In one of the most substantive parts of his press conference on Thursday after the summit concluded, Biden defended his refusal to lift restrictions that currently prohibit Ukraine from using American weapons against targets in Russia with few exceptions. He said the U.S. government decides “on a day-to-day basis” which Russian targets Ukrainian forces are allowed to attack.

“That’s the logical thing to do,” Biden said. “If Zelensky was able to attack Moscow, attack the Kremlin, would that make sense? It wouldn’t.”

But Biden’s example is misplaced because Zelensky is not asking for permission to attack Moscow. In a speech this week at the Ronald Reagan Institute, Zelensky said Ukraine needs permission to attack Russian air bases within 500 kilometers (about 300 miles) of the Ukrainian border. Every day, Russian jets fire guided bombs into Ukrainian territory from those bases with impunity, Zelensky said. Russia has thousands of those bombs, so no amount of air defense systems can keep up. The only way to thwart this tactic is to attack the air bases.

Zelensky also explained why Biden’s caution about escalating tensions with Russia may not be so “logical” after all. Before the recent Russian attack attempt on Kharkiv, Biden officials feared that allowing Ukraine to attack even targets involved in that particular battle would be an excessive provocation and escalate the conflict. But the opposite was the case; Ukraine repelled the invasion and the city was saved.

“Imagine how much we can achieve if all restrictions are lifted. … We are waiting for this step,” Zelensky said. “If we get this problem under control, the children will survive.”

The NATO summit certainly gave Ukraine a host of new weapons, including air defense systems. The Washington summit declaration promised Ukraine an “irreversible” path to NATO membership, if not a formal invitation. U.S. officials also announced this week that long-awaited F-16 fighter jets will soon arrive in Ukraine. Zelensky made it clear that while he appreciates all of these things, they are still not enough for his country. For example, 10 or 20 fighter jets cannot protect Ukrainian skies from the hundreds that Russia can deploy, he said.

Biden’s statement Thursday also contradicts the reasoning used by his own officials when they initially gave Ukraine limited permission to attack targets inside Russia. At the time, national security adviser Jake Sullivan told PBS News Hour that it “only made sense” to allow Ukraine to strike back against attacking forces, regardless of which side of the border they were on.

The Biden administration’s intransigence on this issue follows a familiar pattern. The White House argues against supplying Ukraine with weapons or capabilities, but then changes its mind, but only after months of public and congressional pressure. Each time, U.S. officials warn of a third world war—a legitimate concern, of course—but so far Putin’s threats have proven to be bluffs.

The difference this time is that Putin has good reasons to believe that US policy towards Ukraine could soon change if former President Donald Trump wins the November election. The day before the NATO summit began, Putin bombed the largest children’s hospital in Kyiv. This series of attacks killed 43 people and injured about 200 others. This is a signal to all NATO countries that Putin has no intention of negotiating until then, Zelensky said.

“The Americans are waiting for November,” Zelensky said. “And Putin is also waiting for November, killing and destroying in order to be prepared for whatever November might bring.”

While it should not be his primary consideration, Biden may also be thinking about what the status of the Ukraine war at election time will mean for his campaign, which touts its foreign policy prowess. Introducing Zelensky at the Reagan Institute event, Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) previewed a valid criticism Republicans may have of Biden’s Ukraine policy in November. Ukrainians “don’t need hand-wringing, hesitation or doubt. They need the means to defend themselves, to impose costs on the aggressor and to negotiate from a position of strength,” he said.

If a Trump administration does try to push Ukraine into negotiations with Russia next year, Ukraine’s position should be as strong as possible. For this reason alone, the Biden team should give Kyiv more room to maneuver now. Lifting restrictions on Ukraine would also save lives – and make political sense.

Biden likes to say that the United States will support Ukraine “as long as it takes.” In reality, he, Zelensky and Putin know that he may have only six months to keep that promise.