What Happened: U.S. President Joe Biden wrote an op-ed in The New York Times on June 1 saying that he "will not pressure the Ukrainian government — in private or public — to make any territorial concessions" and that "the United States will continue to work to strengthen Ukraine and support its efforts to achieve a negotiated end to the conflict."

Why It Matters: Biden's op-ed constitutes the most direct articulation of U.S. policy toward Russia and Ukraine since the countries' war began in February. It also signals that the United States' ability to support Ukraine has limits that are intended to reduce any future need to coerce Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky into making concessions to Russia in talks. Biden also reiterated that the United States wants a "to deter… further aggression," which sets a high bar for continued weapons deliveries, as Ukraine would likely need high quantities of advanced systems to deter Russia from continuing or escalating the war. However, Biden also said the United States is "not encouraging or enabling Ukraine to strike beyond its borders," confirming that Washington's failure to provide Ukraine with longer-range artillery is intended to avoid escalation with Russia. Even so, unintended escalation is still possible because Russia already occupies Crimea and may seek to annex more large pieces of Ukraine in the coming months, at which time it would be unclear whether Ukraine is allowed to use U.S. weapons to regain these territories.

Background: The op-ed came on the eve of the announcement of a $700 million U.S. military aid package to Ukraine that includes deliveries of four units of the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, which are equipped with rockets that have a range of just under 50 miles. The rockets' range is shorter than Ukraine requested, but it is still longer than that of almost any other weapon in Ukraine's arsenal.