Robert Kennedy Jr. warns Biden of impending long-range missile decision: ‘Stop it’

Robert Kennedy Jr. urged the Biden administration not to give Ukraine the green light to use U.S.-supplied long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside Russian territory, though no decision has yet been made on their use.

“Secretary Blinken, President Biden — STOP! Stop this reckless escalation. I say this not as a political apologist, but simply as a global citizen,” Kennedy posted on his X channel alongside a video of Vladimir Putin.

Kennedy recently ended his independent run for president and endorsed Republican candidate Donald Trump, who has called for an end to continued U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

In his post, Kennedy shared a video of Putin responding to the potential use of Western weapons in locations inside Russia, with the Russian president saying, “We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats.”

Ukraine is lobbying hard for the United States and the United Kingdom to drop their ban on the use of US ATACMS and British Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian territory, amid concerns that their use could escalate the conflict.

George Pepe, former director of Russia analysis at the CIA, said: Newsweek The risks of giving Ukraine the ability to strike deep into Russia far outweigh the potential benefits.

“There is no reason to believe that providing these air-launched cruise missiles will significantly increase Ukraine’s chances of winning the war,” he said.

“This has become a war of attrition, and the Russians have enormous advantages over Ukraine in terms of population and military manufacturing.”

“The Russians are sapping the Ukrainians’ ability to deploy well-trained and well-equipped forces into battle, and getting air-launched cruise missiles won’t change that,” added Beebe, director of the grand strategy program at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Government.

But Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Friday that his country needs long-range capabilities, as well as air defense, “to protect lives and our people.”

Meanwhile, proponents of the move say uncertainty over whether Kyiv can use the long-range weapons has played into Putin’s hands. Kurt Volker, the former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations, told the BBC that Putin’s comments were because he was interested in “deterring us from doing things.” NATO’s newest members, Sweden and Finland, said on Friday that Ukraine had been given permission to use the weapons they had supplied for long-range strikes.

There has been no announcement of any move, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said after a meeting in Washington on Friday between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden.

Biden had said earlier in the week that he was “working on” Kyiv’s request to use the long-range missiles. Previous reports in Politico and The Guardian It has been proposed to lift restrictions on the United States and the United Kingdom.

While Starmer said the UK and US had reached a “strong position”, he suggested a final decision on Storm Shadow should be deferred to the UN General Assembly this month.

Newsweek I contacted the White House and the State Department for comment.