JRL NEWSWATCH: “Biden Tells Ukraine Not to Hit Russia; The White House fears attacks on refineries inside Russia could raise global prices.” – WSJ
“… Biden’s policy of ambivalence toward Ukraine means … he has provided enough weapons to avoid defeat (at least so far) but with enough constraints that Kyiv also hasn’t been able to win. Witness U.S. unhappiness about Ukraine’s recent strikes on Russian territory. Ukraine has struck at least 15 of Russia’s 30 major refineries since January. The West has been reluctant to let Ukraine use donated weapons to strike Russian territory, so Kyiv has relied on its own drones to do it. On Tuesday Ukrainian drones targeted Russia’s third-largest oil refinery, as well as a facility that manufactures Shahed drones. And on Friday Ukraine struck Russia’s Morozovsk air base, destroying several military aircraft. Some of these attacks occurred more than 750 miles from the Ukrainian border …. But last month the Financial Times reported the Biden Administration had urged Ukraine to halt its campaign targeting Russian refineries and warned that ‘the drone strikes risk driving up global oil prices and provoking retaliation.’ …”