Benzinga - by Michael Juliano, .
President Joe Biden has let up on restrictions that disallowed Ukraine’s military from sending U.S.-provided munitions into Russia in an effort to prevent further escalation of the war.
According to the Associated Press, Russia has been firing on Ukrainian targets from inside its border, treating its area as a "safe zone," said Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder, Pentagon press secretary.
"As we see those forces conducting those types of operations from across the border, we've explained Ukraine can and does have the right to fire back to defend themselves," Ryder told reporters Thursday.
This includes firing longer-range missiles beyond Kharkiv, Ukraine’s largest city, into Russia in an act of self-defense.
Meanwhile, the Kremlin is reportedly eager to hold “comprehensive” security talks with the White House as long as they include the subject of Ukraine.
“It is impossible to rip out any individual segments from the general complex of accumulated problems, and we will not do this,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said when asked if Moscow was ready to talk to Washington about nuclear risks.
Peskov told reporters that the list of topics that Russia and the U.S. needed to discuss was growing, according to Reuters.
“Overall, this dialogue is very much required,” Peskov said. “It is needed because problems are piling up, and there are a lot of problems associated with the global security architecture.”
Washington contends that Russian President Vladimir Putin is fueling security concerns by visiting nuclear-armed North Korea this week. Kim Jong Un signed a mutual defense accord with Putin who indicated he might give Russian weapons to North Korea due to the Western arming of Ukraine.
White House Rushes Air Defense Interceptor Missiles To Ukraine The White House is also redirecting shipments planned for other allied nations to Ukraine to counter Russia’s increased onslaught.
National security spokesman John Kirby told the Associated Press that the U.S. had taken the "difficult but necessary decision to reprioritize near-term planned deliveries of foreign military sales to other countries.
It is not clear which nations would be affected or how many.
"Right now, we know that Ukraine urgently needs these additional capabilities," Kirby told reporters. "Obviously more is needed, and it's needed now."
The U.S. has sent Ukraine interceptor missiles for its air defense systems as Russia intensified missile and drone attacks on cities and infrastructure centers in an effort to destroy Ukraine's energy system before winter.
The number of interceptors to be sent is not yet known. Kirby said it could involve "hundreds" of Patriot interceptor missiles.
Price Action: iShares U.S. Aerospace & Defense ETF (CBOE:ITA) remained flat into Friday’s mid-day trading by sliding 0.05%, while Invesco Aersospce & Defense ETF (NYSE:PPA) slipped 0.27%. SPDR S&P Aerospace & Defense ETF (NYSE:XAR) picked up 0.72% in mid-day trading.
Now Read: Amid North Korea-Russia Defence Pact, Seoul To ‘Reconsider’ Arms Supply To Ukraine
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