The Biden administration should reverse its decision made earlier this month not to provide Ukraine with advanced drones, according to a bipartisan group of senators.
Such technology could help Kyiv gain momentum in the war against Russia, the 16 senators wrote in a letter to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The administration should provide Ukraine with MQ-1C armed drones, or Grey Eagles, which can fly for more than 24 hours, they wrote.
"The long-term upside of providing Ukraine with the MQ-1C is significant and has the potential to drive the strategic course of the war in Ukraine's favor," the letter read.
The senators pointed out Kyiv should be sent advanced drones to counter the battlefield advantage Iran has provided Russia by delivering drones in the past few weeks that have been pummeling Ukraine.
"This system's operational attributes — availability, lethality, survivability, and exportability — complement existing weapon systems used by the Ukrainians and will increase the lethality of the Ukrainian military," the senators wrote.
The letter is only the latest step in a struggle between Capitol Hill and the White House over what kind of arms to provide Ukraine, with congressmen from both parties sending another letter two months ago pressing the administration to quicken the review process about giving the Gray Eagles to Ukraine.
In the latest letter, the legislators asked Austin to explain by Nov. 30 the reasons why the U.S. should not provide Ukraine with the drones.
"Ukrainian successes on the battlefield are encouraging, but [Russian President] Vladimir Putin's intent to conquer all of Ukraine remains unchanged," the senators wrote. "The timely provision of effective lethal aid to stabilize Ukrainian defenses and enable long-term resistance against future Russian aggression remains urgent."
Brian Freeman ✉
Brian Freeman, a Newsmax writer based in Israel, has more than three decades writing and editing about culture and politics for newspapers, online and television.
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