It may not even be a lie, like "we don't support Ukraine hitting Russian soil but it's for Ukraine to decide" is well and good but do they have the ability to do so? And by that I mean, has Storm Shadow and HIMARS been disabled from being able to locate onto Russian soil? IIRC I read months ago that HIMARS can actually be disabled from targeting certain geographical areas.

So you can say "It's up to Ukraine to decide" but if the HIMARS literally cannot fire on Russian soil then it's not exactly a lie.

This might seem like a stretch, Lol. I'm just not feeling very trusting lately.

Even if there's no such preventive measure the unwritten part can also be " It's up to Ukraine to decide, but we might then review decision to provide those in the future".

Yup. This is why I'm in a wait and see. If the restrictions have been lifted then there's no reason we shouldn't see HIMARS and Storm Shadow used on Russia in the near future but until I actually see it, I have my doubts.

Lol...Of fucking course, Blinken you absolute fucking idiot. Ukraine continues to fight with one arm tied behind its back! Policy is strategically stupid and morally abhorrent. Sumy and Kharkiv will continue to be pounded and innocent Ukrainians will continue to be blown to pieces.

Why do I have any faith that the West will ever do the right thing at this point. UK is probably bullshitting us all too.

All I see is America's enemies growing stronger; Iran, North Korea, Russia, all led by disgusting regimes, all collaborating with each other, growing stronger, having no redlines, all I see from the West is "bu-bu-bu-redlines, I'm scared" all I see is Europe grovelling at China and China saying "sure thing bro" then publicly laughing in our face as they go straight back to aiding Russia.

America and Europe paralysed by self-inflicted fear. If this leads to China invading Taiwan, Iran attacking Israel, Russia invading more countries, the blood will be on our hands for how pathetically cowardly we were when we needed to be brave and stand up against evil, instead we're showing evil that we're terrified of it and while it has no redlines, we enforce multiple stupid redlines on ourselves.

Sumy and Kharkiv will eventually turn into a wasteland thanks to this stupid fucking policy.

Not enough in practically every aspect, not enough military support because we're too scared to make ourselves a fraction uncomfortable, meanwhile those on Russia's border empty their stocks for Ukraine, too afraid to lift stupid policies enforced onto Ukraine, Europe can't even properly enforce its own damn sanctions on Russia. Cowardice all round.

I wish journalists with military knowledge would grill the Biden admin on how exactly they expect Ukraine to fight a war like no other country has been forced to fight a war before? How they expect Ukraine to defend itself when it can't fire back across the border that sits on the ass of two of its major cities? Ask America would they enforce these same restrictions on all their allies and if so, how can any ally trust America? If North Korea attacked South Korea, would South Korea be blocked from launching American made missiles at North Korea? Likewise with Taiwan and China?

Though when we look at Israel it seems like they can do whatever the fuck they want.

God help Ukraine if Trump wins, over 2 years of slowness, stupid restrictions, inadequate support, only to lead to Trump pulling all support from them, Ukraine won't have a head start by the time Trump gets in power, they'll already be on the backfoot, if Trump wins they'll be completely fucked unless Europe sends troops which isn't happening, the only countries that have shown they have a spine simply do not have the army to go it alone without France, Germany, Italy, Spain and UK. Can count Italy and Spain out right from the start as doing anything important.

Rolstop, you are incorrect. The weapons included in the $61b US aid package, which Biden signed into law in late April, can be used against Russian soldiers, but only if they are on occupied Ukrainian territory - including Crimea - which Russia has occupied since 2014.

However, the Biden admin does not want to see them used against Russian soldiers in Mother Russia itself.  I know Ryu hates this restriction and I don't like it either Ryu, but I believe it is in place because they are worried Putin may play the nuclear card as a possible Russian response - one that could result in Russia using tactical nukes against the Ukrainian army via nuclear armed artillery shells or small nuclear armed missiles.

Also, Rolstop, I did say if the US passed the $61b aid package, then "you will see tens of thousands of dead Russian soldiers."  I believe we are starting to see the impact of that aid package on the battlefield already.  Here is a chart I've been compiling on Russia's monthly losses since Feb. 2023. Note: all data is from the Kiev Independent (which gets them from the Ukrainian Armed Forces), as it publishes the only numbers known to me. Are they inflated? Of course.  By how much? Your guess is as good as mine. One last note, compare the numbers from the entire month of May 2023 to just the first 16 days of May 2024.

Reminder that Russia considers Crimea to be part of Russia.

Good job ATACMS.

If Ukraine does have permission from UK then at this stage I'd accept them wasting a Storm Shadow and just lobbing it across Russia at any old military facility just to put America on the spot.