Ukraine is still pushing for the US to support long-range strikes inside Russian territory after a meeting between President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer ended with no announcements about the issue.
Biden and Starmer held talks at the White House on Friday, a day after Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if the US allowed and supported long-range strikes inside Russia, it would mean NATO is at war with Russia.
Ahead of the meeting, the White House said the US hasn’t changed its policy regarding long-range strikes. "There is no change to our view on the provision of long-range strike capabilities for Ukraine to use inside of Russia," said National Security Council spokesman John Kirby. "I would not expect any major announcement in that regard."
The UK wants the US to sign off on Ukraine’s use of British-provided Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 155 miles, inside Russian territory. But there’s no sign that Biden gave that permission during the meeting with Starmer, and according to The New York Times, the US is more concerned about the risk of escalation than the UK.
On Saturday, a high-level NATO official expressed support for long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia. "Every nation that is attacked has the right to defend itself. And that right doesn’t stop at the border of your own nation," said Adm. Rob Bauer, the chair of NATO’s Military Committee.
In the days leading up to the Starmer-Biden meeting, multiple media reports said the US was preparing to expand the area where Ukraine could use US and other NATO missiles. Some reports said Biden was ready to lift restrictions on the Storm Shadows, while other reports suggested he would also support the use of US weapons in long-range strikes in Russia, including the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), US-provided missiles with a range of about 190 miles.
The Guardian reported last week that a decision to lift the restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the weapons had already been made in private. British government sources told the outlet that it would not be made public in the near future, and that an announcement was not expected after the Biden-Starmer meeting.
Previous escalatory steps that the US has taken in the Ukraine proxy war were not announced publicly. For example, when President Biden gave Ukraine the greenlight to use US-provided weapons in Russian border regions, it was first revealed by media reports and later acknowledged by the administration.
