Democrats, Republicans want Biden to ease Ukraine weapons restrictions

By Patricia Zengerle

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden's administration faced increasing pressure from both Republicans and his fellow Democrats on Wednesday to ease restrictions on how Ukraine can use weapons provided by the United States in its war against Russia.

Senator Ben Cardin, the Democratic chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, noted recent Russian attacks that killed civilians and destroyed infrastructure, calling for quick action.

"It’s time to allow Ukraine to be able to defend itself against these air attacks in a more effective way, and the United States needs to be the leader in that regard," Cardin said at a committee hearing.

Despite Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy's pleas, the White House has been reluctant to allow U.S.-supplied weapons to be used to strike targets deep inside Russia for fear this could escalate the conflict.

Republicans have called for such restrictions to be eased since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, but influential congressional Democrats more recently also have been urging the policy shift.

Lawmakers renewed their calls as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Minister David Lammy met top officials in Kyiv. Blinken told a news conference he had discussed long-range weapons and would brief Biden on what he had heard, but did not announce restrictions had been lifted.

In a letter to Biden national security adviser Jake Sullivan, Representative Bill Keating, the top Democrat on the House Europe subcommittee, on Tuesday urged the administration to allow the use of American-made weapons against military targets in Russian territory.

A group of congressional Republicans, including the chairs of the Armed Services, Foreign Affairs and Intelligence committees, also released a letter on Tuesday calling for an end to the restrictions.

Biden said on Tuesday that ending a ban on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons was being worked out.

(Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)