Biden proposes to end restrictions on Ukraine’s long-range weapons
President Joe Biden has indicated that Washington is removing restrictions on Ukraine using US long-range missiles against Russia.
If approved, it would fulfill Ukraine’s repeated requests to ease restrictions on US-supplied weapons, officials who left them to fight the Russian invasion fully with their hands tied.
Russia has yet to comment, but President Vladimir Putin has previously said that such action could lead “very difficult problems”.
Biden’s comments come after US Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Iran of supplying long-range missiles to Russia.
Asked by reporters whether the US would lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons in Ukraine on Tuesday, President Biden said his administration was “dealing with that now”.
Ever since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US has been reluctant to supply or authorize the use of weapons that could strike targets deep inside Russia for fear of escalating the conflict.
However, it has loosened some of the restrictions on the use of such missiles, allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike areas along the Russian border where the military is firing.
Some of Kyiv’s allies have also been providing long-range weapons – with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, due to concerns that the strikes could trigger retaliation that draws Nato countries into war or sparks a nuclear war.
In recent months Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the pace of arms deliveries, and has asked for authorization to strike targets deep in Russia with missiles supplied by the West – a move the US has already resisted.
The leader of Russia Putin also warned earlier this year that Ukraine’s invasion of Russia with the missiles of the West risked provoking a wider war.
“Continuous escalation can lead to negative consequences,” he said in May. “Do they want a world war?”
He added that the responsibility for any strikes inside Russian territory would be with Western arms suppliers, even if Ukrainian forces carried out the strikes.
Separately on Tuesday, the US, UK, France and Germany imposed new sanctions on Iran by supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to be used in Ukraine.
The measures included restrictions on state carrier Iran Air’s ability to fly to the UK and Europe – as well as travel bans and asset freezes on many Iranians suspected of supporting Russian militants.
On a visit to London, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the Russians have been trained by the Iranian military to use short-range ballistic missiles and could be used against the Ukrainians in a few weeks.
The missiles are likely to increase Russia’s arsenal, being able to hit Ukrainian cities close to Russia’s borders or areas it already controls at the same time as it launches its long-range missiles deep into Ukrainian territory.
Iran has repeatedly denied that it will supply Russia with guided missiles.
UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy described Iran’s move as a “significant and dangerous escalation”.
Blinken and Lammy traveled to Kyiv together on Wednesday, where they will meet with President Zelensky.
Blinken said one of their goals before the visit was to “hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership” about “their goals and what we can do to support those needs”.
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