United States president Joe Biden appears to be on the verge of clearing the way for Ukraine to launch long-range western weapons deep inside Russian territory, as long as it doesn’t use arms provided by the US, European officials say.
The issue, which has long been debated in the White House, is coming to a head on Friday with the first visit to Washington DC by new UK prime minister Keir Starmer.
Britain has already signalled to the US that it is eager to let Ukraine use its “Storm Shadow” long-range missiles to strike at Russian military targets far from the Ukrainian border. But it wants explicit permission from Mr Biden in order to demonstrate a co-ordinated strategy with the United States and France, which makes a similar missile. US officials say Mr Biden has not made a decision, but will hear from Mr Starmer on Friday.
If the US president approves, the move could help Ukraine hold the line after it seizes Russian territory, as it did during its surprise incursion into Russia’s Kursk region. But Mr Biden has hesitated to allow Ukraine to use US weapons in the same way, particularly after warnings from US intelligence agencies that Russia could respond by aiding Iran in targeting US forces in the Middle East.
On Thursday, White House officials insisted there was no imminent decision on the use of the American-made surface-to-surface Army Tactical Missile Systems. But Mr Biden himself has signalled that a loosening of restrictions is coming. He was asked on Tuesday whether he was ready to grant the increasingly insistent requests from Ukraine.
“We are working that out right now,” he said.
If Mr Biden permits the British and French to go ahead, and if he follows by allowing the use of the systems, it could well be his final acceleration of military aid to Ukraine.
Quietly, Republican leaders in the Senate have been urging an aggressive response – a sharp split with former President Donald Trump, who refused in Tuesday’s presidential debate to declare that he wants Ukraine to win, or to say that Russia should get out of the 20 per cent or so of Ukraine it has taken.
On Thursday, Russian president Vladimir Putin said the Ukrainians alone could not operate the missiles, because they required western technical help and satellite guidance.
“This will mean that Nato countries – the United States and European countries – are at war with Russia,” he said, according to a report by the Kremlin. “We will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us.” – This article originally appeared in The New York Times