Biden Announces Plan to Deliver ‘Advanced Rocket Systems’ to Ukraine in NY Times Op-Ed

President Joe Biden announced he will send advanced rocket systems to Ukraine in an op-ed published by the New York Times Tuesday evening.

The president was criticized from all angles Monday after he said he would not provide the embattled country with rocket systems capable of striking inside Russia. However, he wrote in the Times on Tuesday that he will send advanced missile systems to fight Russian military on Ukrainian soil.

“The invasion Vladimir Putin thought would last days is now in its fourth month,” Biden wrote. “The Ukrainian people surprised Russia and inspired the world with their sacrifice, grit and battlefield success. The free world and many other nations, led by the United States, rallied to Ukraine’s side with unprecedented military, humanitarian and financial support.”

Biden said the U.S. is committed to seeing Ukraine free, and will act to see it accomplish its goals on the battlefield. He added,

As President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine has said, ultimately this war “will only definitively end through diplomacy.” Every negotiation reflects the facts on the ground. We have moved quickly to send Ukraine a significant amount of weaponry and ammunition so it can fight on the battlefield and be in the strongest possible position at the negotiating table.

That’s why I’ve decided that we will provide the Ukrainians with more advanced rocket systems and munitions that will enable them to more precisely strike key targets on the battlefield in Ukraine.

Biden also said, “Vladimir Putin did not expect this degree of unity or the strength of our response. He was mistaken. If he expects that we will waver or fracture in the months to come, he is equally mistaken.”

The reversal comes a day after the president was criticized for denying Ukraine access to high-tech, long-range rockets.

MSNBC analyst and former U.S. Ambassador to Russia Michael McFaul was among those who criticized Biden. During an interview with Katy Tur, he called a decision not to arm Ukraine “a losing strategy.”