WASHINGTON: Donald Trump’s allies voiced criticism Monday of President Joe Biden’s decision to let Ukraine use US-supplied long-range missiles for attacks inside Russia. With two months left in office, US President Biden made a major policy change that yields to a long-standing request from Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion, now in its third year, reports AFP.
The new policy and Biden’s pledge to speed up military aid to Ukraine come as the United States prepares for Trump to take over as president in January, having questioned US assistance throughout the war.
Trump has repeatedly promised to end the war, but has not provided details of how he would do so.
With Russia gaining ground and increasing talk of negotiations, Ukraine is wary of being at a disadvantage when it comes to hashing out a peace settlement.
Moscow has pledged an “appropriate” response if the US-supplied missiles are in fact used against Russia, and Trump’s team accused Biden of escalating the war for political reasons.
At a daily briefing, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller accused Russia of escalation by accepting a deployment of North Korean soldiers to fight Ukrainian forces.
Miller noted that Biden, not Trump, was still the US president — for now.
Biden’s move, however, complicates things for Trump’s incoming administration.
“It’s another step up the escalation ladder and nobody knows where this is going,” Mike Waltz, Trump’s choice to be national security adviser, told Fox News.
“No one anticipated that Joe Biden would ESCALATE the war in Ukraine during the transition period. This is as if he is launching a whole new war,” Richard Grenell, who was acting Director of National Intelligence during Trump’s first term, wrote on X.
“Everything has changed now — all previous calculations are null and void. And all for politics,” Grenell said.
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For now, Grenell does not have a job in the incoming administration but his name had come up as a possible Secretary of State before Trump finally decided to go with Senator Marco Rubio.
Also weighing in was Donald Trump Jr., who wrote on X: “The Military Industrial Complex seems to want to make sure they get World War 3 going before my father has a chance to create peace and save lives.”
Trump himself has not spoken publicly on Biden’s change of heart regarding the long-range missiles.
“He is the only person who can bring both sides together in order to negotiate peace, and work towards ending the war and stopping the killing,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung.
CNN reports that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday said Russia’s war in Ukraine will end “faster” when Donald Trump takes over as US president.
Speaking in a radio interview with Ukrainian public broadcaster Suspilne, Zelensky admitted to a difficult situation on the battlefield, where Russia has been pressing its advantages in manpower and weaponry.
He said the war “will end faster with the policy of this team that will now lead the White House,” referring to the incoming Trump administration.
