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The Biden administration is considering sending long-range cruise missiles to Ukraine.

What’s the deal?: According to an anonymous source speaking to Politico, the Biden administration is contemplating transferring Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) to Ukraine. However, a final decision has yet to be made.

More on the JASSM: Designed to be launched from these U.S.-made fourth-generation planes (like the F-16 fighter jets recently received by Ukraine from European countries), JASSM missiles would give Ukraine the ability to strike targets over 200 miles away.

Digging Deeper: Some US lawmakers and global leaders have been urging the Biden administration to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use and provisions of US-supplied weapons, criticizing the slow pace at which advanced military equipment has been delivered. They argue the administration has been overly cautious, delaying the necessary support Ukraine needs to counter Russian aggression effectively. The push for greater flexibility in allowing Ukraine to strike deeper within Russian territory has intensified, especially as Ukraine conducts incursions into Russia’s Kursk region.

Warnings from Russia: Russia has repeatedly warned that supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons, like the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missiles (JASSM) currently under consideration by the Biden administration, would be viewed as a major escalation of the war. Putin has previously said that if the United States takes such action or provides long-range weapons to countries bordering Russia, he would consider arming Russia’s allies with similar weapons.