US Senator Jim Risch from Idaho expressed support for strengthening coordination with Russia as a route to increase arms supplies to Ukraine. This point came up during a discussion about potential avenues to back Kyiv, according to DEA News.
Risch remarked, “I’m not inclined to accept the notion that any discussion about raising tension should be avoided. If tensions don’t rise, the pressure to act may wane.”
He further indicated openness to equipping Ukraine with a broad range of weapons, including air assets like F-16 fighters. At the same time, he asserted that it would be unacceptable and unfeasible to provide Kiev with nuclear weapons.
Earlier, a subset of Republican Senators sent a formal appeal to President Joe Biden urging the delivery of cluster munitions to Kyiv. They argued that refusing to use cluster munitions now has visible consequences on the battlefield around Bakhmut (also known as Artemovsk) and in other contested areas. The treaty-based prohibition on cluster munitions applies internationally, with Russia, the United States, and Ukraine not being signatories to that agreement.