2022.09.18

 Senior aides to the president also say that when Biden asked the Pentagon in 

recent weeks how much the longer-range missile systems would help Ukrainian

 forces during the next stage of the war, he was told the benefits would be minimal. 

 That led him to conclude, they said, that it was not worth the risk.

 They do not know what form that escalation might take. But many of the options 

they are preparing for are bleak: more indiscriminate bombardment of Ukrainian 

cities, a campaign to kill senior Ukrainian leaders or an attack on supply hubs 

outside Ukraine — located in NATO countries like Poland and Romania — that 

are channeling extraordinary quantities of arms, ammunition and military 

equipment into the country.

 Colin H. Kahl, undersecretary of defense for policy, said in a statement to 

The New York Times on Friday that “Ukraine’s success on the battlefield 

could cause Russia to feel backed into a corner, and that is something 

we must remain mindful of.” 

 But he said that while the United States is committed to providing Ukraine 

with the equipment it needs to counter Russian aggression, the Pentagon 

has assessed that Ukraine does not need the ATACMS for “targets that are 

directly relevant to the current fight.”

 https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2022/09/18/world/ukraine-us-weapons-biden/