The United States will not supply Ukraine with long-range missile systems that could reach Russian territory, President Joe Biden said.

The media reported last week that the Biden administration was considering sending such systems, which had been requested by Ukrainian government officials, in order to fight against Russia.

“We will not send missile systems to Ukraine that could strike Russia,” Biden told reporters on May 30.

Two systems – the Multiple Missile Launcher System (MLRS) and the High Mobility Artillery Missile System (HIMARS) – were under consideration, CNN and the Washington Post reported on May 28.

Russia’s Deputy Security Council Secretary Dmitry Medvedev said Washington’s decision not to send these missile systems to Ukraine was a “rational” decision.

The MLRS system can fire rockets hundreds of meters away. The Ukrainian government has called on the West to provide it with long-range weapons in order to defeat Russia, which launched its occupation of Ukraine on February 24.