Joe Biden has added to mounting speculation that the US is poised to lift its restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles to hit deep inside Russia, confirming that his administration is “working that out now”.
US secretary of state Antony Blinken and foreign secretary David Lammy are meeting Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky in Kyiv later on Wednesday.
They are set to discuss Ukraine’s use of advanced Western-supplied weapons, including British Storm Shadow missiles, The Times reported, citing UK government sources.
A potential move to free up Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles against Russia comes after US intelligence reports found Iran had begun supplying Moscow with ballistic missiles, adding to its existing exports of Shahed attack drones. Tehran has denied the reports, while Russia has only confirmed it is seeking growing “cooperation” with Iran.
“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine in the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression,” Mr Blinken said at a news conference with Mr Lammy in London before their Kyiv visit.
Mr Biden is likely to discuss Ukraine’s use of missiles with prime minister Keir Starmer when they meet in Washington on Friday.
Mr Zelensky has repeatedly urged the West to supply more long-range missiles and lift restrictions on using them to hit targets inside Russian territory.
The US has previously expressed concerns that such a move would escalate the conflict, but British government sources have been quoted as suggesting this position is shifting. CIA chief Bill Burns also hinted at a shift in Washington’s thinking during a visit to London last Saturday.
Though Britain and France are believed to have permitted Ukraine to use long-range missiles inside Russia, such permission from the US would be a big shift in Kyiv’s capabilities.
The UK has supplied Ukraine with Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 155 miles, while the US has provided it with ATACMS ballistic missiles with a range of 190 miles.
Kyiv has been using both these missiles, along with a range of other weapons and military hardware supplied by the West, but has failed to fend off Russian advances.
In a bid to seize back some of the initiative and divert the Russian military from the Donbas frontline, Ukrainian forces invaded Russia’s Kursk region last month, seizing large swathes of territory. They have now bedded in, awaiting an inevitable Russian counterattack.
In the meantime, Russian troops have continued to move forward in the east.
Mr Blinken and Mr Lammy are visiting Kyiv a day after Russia reportedly received a shipment of 200 ballistic missiles from Iran.
The US and UK have denounced the move and unveiled new sanctions against Iran, including a ban on Iran Air passenger flights from British airspace.
“This development and the growing cooperation between Russia and Iran threatens European security and demonstrates how Iran’s destabilising influence reaches far beyond the Middle East,” the secretary of state declared.
He declined to confirm whether Washington will allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons inside Russia but said such a decision is informed by multiple factors.
“It’s not just the system itself that counts. You have to ask: can the Ukrainians effectively use it, and sometimes that requires significant training, which we’ve done. Do they have the ability to maintain it?” Mr Blinken said.
The situation for Kyiv remains dire. UK defence secretary John Healey described the war as being at a “critical moment”, with Ukraine facing intense air bombardments and a significant artillery disadvantage.