Russian Official Says U.S. 'Raising Stakes,' Predicts More Western Weapons

The Russian-installed governor of the partially occupied Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine has predicted that Kyiv will eventually receive the kind of long-range missiles that the U.S. has so far refused to provide.

Yevgeny Balitsky, a Ukrainian politician installed as governor of the regional occupation authority in October, said on Thursday that the U.S. will continue "raising the stakes" of Russia's ongoing invasion as Kyiv seeks to liberate territories still held by Russian forces.

"He will get them, of course," Balitsky said of long-range American missiles, according to Russia's state-run Tass news agency. "He will get them sooner or later as the Americans continue raising the stakes."

Baltisky—originally from the now-occupied southern Ukrainian city of Melitopol—served in the Soviet and Ukrainian air forces before becoming an entrepreneur and going into politics. A veteran of Ukraine's pro-Russian parties, he began collaborating with invading Russian forces soon after they crossed the border in February.

Baltisky joined the heads of the other occupation authorities at the Kremlin at the end of September, when Russian President Vladimir Putin announced his claim to have annexed four partially occupied Ukrainian regions into the Russian Federation.

Kyiv has long been asking the U.S. to provide the MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) for use with the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System—colloquially known as the HIMARS. The ATACMS has a maximum range of 190 miles, over 100 miles more than the standard HIMARS rockets that Ukraine has been using.

The White House has so far refused to supply ATACMS for fear the move would be interpreted as escalatory by Moscow and create tensions within NATO.

Balitsky suggested on Thursday that the landmark U.S. decision to send a Patriot surface-to-air missile battery to Ukraine was significant, but that one battery alone wouldn't significantly shift the military balance.

"As a military pilot, I can say that the system is good," he said. "It is slightly obsolete, but remains a serious force. However, one system is nothing, as it was designed to operate in battalions - just like [Russia's] Buk system does. One system will not be enough even to cover Kyiv."

Balitsky said that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky "looked unimpressive, as usual" in his historic visit to Washington, D.C.; the first time Zelensky has left the country since Russia's latest invasion began on February 24.

At their meeting, President Joe Biden told Zelensky: "The American people have been with you every step of the way, and we will stay with you. We will stay with you for as long as it takes."

Zelensky praised Biden and members of Congress for all the support the U.S. has so far provided to Ukraine. The U.S. is Ukraine's primary political, economic and military lifeline, and leaders in Kyiv are wary of any weakening of the pro-Ukraine sentiment in Washington, D.C.

But Zelensky also stressed that Ukraine needs more U.S. weapons to win the war. "Your money is not charity," he told lawmakers. "It is an investment in global security and democracy that we handle in the most responsible way. You can speed up our victory. I know it. Let the world see that the United States are here."

U.S. backing "is crucial, not just to stand in such a fight, but to get to the turning point to win on the battlefield," Zelensky added. "We have artillery, yes. We have it. Is it enough? Quite honestly, not really."