Donald Trump Jr. and former U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. opposed permitting Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western-supplied long-range missiles, calling on the Biden-Harris administration to negotiate with Moscow.
In a joint op-ed published by The Hill on Sept. 17, the two cited Russia's nuclear saber-rattling rhetoric and recent comment by Russian President Vladimir Putin, saying that lifting restrictions on long-range strikes would mean NATO being "at war" with Moscow.
Russia has consistently issued threats, including nuclear ones, since the beginning of its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, but none of them have materialized.
Ukraine is hoping for permission to use two Western-supplied long-range missiles that it already possesses to strike military targets such as airfields located deep inside Russian territory. Anticipation had been high last week ahead of meetings between Biden and U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington, but no announcement on a decision was made.
Trump Jr., the son of former President and Republican nominee Donald Trump, and Kennedy Jr., who suspended his presidential campaign this summer and endorsed Trump, claimed that lifting restrictions "would put the world at greater risk of nuclear conflagration than at any time since the Cuban missile crisis."
The two urged U.S. President Joe Biden and Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, to focus on "finding a diplomatic off-ramp" to Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine. Trump and Kennedy also rejected the threat of Moscow's attack on other European countries in the future, saying that Russia "can barely wrest a few provinces from Ukraine."
The opinion comes as President Volodymyr Zelensky is preparing to present his "Victory Plan" to Biden and other leaders later this month, which reportedly doesn't envisage a ceasefire or ceding territory to Moscow.
Trump has repeatedly promised to end Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine within 24 hours if elected but has not publicly elaborated on how he plans to achieve that.
During the presidential debate on Sept. 10, Harris pledged to support Ukraine while Trump refused to answer whether Ukraine's victory was in the best interests of the U.S., instead insisting that it was "in the U.S.'s best interest to get this war finished and just get it done. Negotiate a deal."
Kyiv has said it aims to invite Russia for an upcoming second peace summit, though Moscow has shown no interest in accepting the invitation.
Kyiv's 10-point peace formula includes a complete Russian withdrawal from the country. Russia named Ukraine giving up on occupied territory and ceding additional ground as conditions for talks.
Natalia Yermak
