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Pressure builds on Biden from within his own party to ease Ukraine strike restrictions
CNN
Pressure is building on President Joe Biden, including from within his own party, to loosen the restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons to strike deep inside Russia.
Pressure is building on President Joe Biden, including from within his own party, to loosen the restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-provided weapons to strike deep inside Russia. Democratic Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin released a statement Wednesday calling for the restrictions to be eased, in light of “Vladimir Putin’s relentless attacks on Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure,” that he called “horrifying.” “Given these escalating attacks, the time has come to ease restrictions on Ukrainian’s use of U.S.-provided weapons. Greater flexibility to target Russian military assets will degrade Moscow’s ability to harm the Ukrainian people. The United States must act swiftly to grant these permissions,” the Maryland Democrat wrote. Cardin’s statement, released as Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv, adds to a growing chorus of those calling Biden to allow Kyiv to strike deep within Russia. The Ukrainian government, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, has repeatedly been making the appeal. Blinken and Zelensky discussed the restrictions during their meeting in Kyiv Wednesday. Blinken told reporters he would share that discussion with Biden. “From day one, as you heard me say, we have adjusted and adapted as needs have changed, as the battlefield has changed, and I have no doubt that we’ll continue to do that as this evolves,” Blinken said at a news conference in Kyiv with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy.
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Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum says she’ll propose reforms to the country’s constitution aiming to reinforce the nation’s sovereignty, after the US designated several Mexican cartels as foreign terrorist organizations – a move that could potentially lay the groundwork for direct US strikes inside Mexican territory.