President Joe Biden used a New York Times opinion column to explain his reason for providing Ukraine with long-range missiles, and reiterated he was not calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin's ouster.
During a trip to Poland in late March, Biden called Putin a butcher who "cannot remain in power." The president later said he was "not walking anything back" concerning his earlier comment, though he insisted he was not calling for regime change in Moscow.
"We do not seek a war between NATO and Russia," Biden wrote in the Times opinion column published Tuesday. "As much as I disagree with Mr. Putin, and find his actions an outrage, the United States will not try to bring about his ouster in Moscow.
"So long as the United States or our allies are not attacked, we will not be directly engaged in this conflict, either by sending American troops to fight in Ukraine or by attacking Russian forces. We are not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders. We do not want to prolong the war just to inflict pain on Russia."
Biden said America's goal in supporting Ukraine was "straightforward," and he would not pressure the Ukrainian government publicly or privately to make any territorial concessions.
"We want to see a democratic, independent, sovereign and prosperous Ukraine with the means to deter and defend itself against further aggression," Biden wrote.
Biden said he agreed to provide Ukraine with advanced rocket systems that can strike with precision at long-range Russian targets as part of a $700 million weapons package.
"As President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war 'will only definitively end through diplomacy,'" Biden wrote in the opinion column. "Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.
"That's why I've decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine."
Biden said the U.S. will join its allies in continuing to enforce imposed sanctions om Russia, and will continue to arm Ukraine.
"We will continue providing Ukraine with advanced weaponry, including Javelin anti-tank missiles, Stinger anti-aircraft missiles, powerful artillery and precision rocket systems, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, Mi-17 helicopters and ammunition," Biden wrote.
"We will also send billions more in financial assistance, as authorized by Congress. We will work with our allies and partners to address the global food crisis that Russia's aggression is worsening. And we will help our European allies and others reduce their dependence on Russian fossil fuels, and speed our transition to a clean energy future."
The president added that there had been no indication Russia would use nuclear weapons in Ukraine, "though Russia's occasional rhetoric to rattle the nuclear saber is itself dangerous and extremely irresponsible."
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this story.
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