The US is "mindful of the escalation risk,” and everything it is doing" in the Ukraine conflict, including the recent decision to provide four HIMARS systems to Kiev, but ultimately "Russia doesn't get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians." This was announced by Colin Kahl, US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy.

“President Biden has made clear: we have no intention of coming into direct conflict with Russia. We don't have an interest in the conflict in Ukraine widening to a broader conflict or evolving into World War Three. So, we've been mindful of that, but at the same time, Russia doesn't get a veto over what we send to the Ukrainians,” Kahl said. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has assured Joe Biden that Ukraine will not escalate the conflict if the United States provides HIMARS systems to Ukraine, Kahl added.

“So, the assurances have been given at multiple levels of Ukrainian government. [US Defense Secretary Lloyd] Secretary Austin has raised these issues with [Ukrainian Defense] Minister Reznikov and their numerous calls. They're talking to each other once or twice a week; that has been true since the beginning of the conflict. But this particular assurance goes all the way to the top of the Ukrainian government to include President Zelenskyy,” Kahl said. 

The United States has decided to send four High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS)—with a 70-kilometer-range—to Ukraine—and instead of more long-range weapons demanded by the Ukrainians.

“We don't assess that they need systems that range out hundreds and hundreds of kilometers for the current fight. And so that's how we settled on it,” Colin Kahl added.