Biden admin faces mounting pressure to allow Ukraine to strike inside Russia with US missiles

President Biden is facing mounting pressure to lift the ban on Ukraine using U.S. weapons to strike deep inside Russia and appeared to admit on Tuesday that his administration is moving in that direction.

"We’re working that out right now," he said when asked by reporters whether he would allow Ukraine to use the long-range Army Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, to target sites inside Russia.

Support for lifting the ban has come from all sides.

A group of high-level House Republicans wrote to the president this week arguing that such restrictions "have hampered Ukraine’s ability to defeat Russia’s war of aggression and have given the Kremlin’s forces a sanctuary from which it can attack Ukraine with impunity."

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The House GOP letter was signed by House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair Michael McCaul, House Intelligence Committee Chair Michael Turner, House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers and other committee leaders.

It critiques the Biden administration but contrasts statements from top Republicans like Donald Trump, who have suggested he could bring a diplomatic end to the war.

On Wednesday, a group of liberal and progressive former high-level national security officials authored a letter calling on the U.S. and U.K. to allow unrestricted use of their weapons to strike Russian territory.

A bipartisan group of House and Senate members sent another letter arguing that with the ban, Russia "is far too comfortable in its ability to focus on its offensive operations rather than defending itself."

"Easing the restrictions on Western weapons will not cause Moscow to escalate," they wrote. "We urge you to listen to your partners in Kyiv this week and allow Ukraine to