During a joint press conference with UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy in London, Blinken stated, “I fully anticipate this is something they’ll take up when they meet on Friday,” referring to allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes against Russia.
The discussion comes as Ukraine has been urging allies for months to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons against targets within Russia. The restriction doesn’t allow Ukraine to strike Russian logistics and airfields, allowing Russia to exert greater pressure on the frontline, in particular by massively using glide bombs.
Blinken emphasized the importance of adapting support based on battlefield conditions: “We have continuously adjusted and adapted based on the battlefield conditions, based on what Russia was doing in a given place and by given means.” He added that they will be “listening intently to our Ukrainian partners” about their current needs during an upcoming joint visit to Kyiv with Lammy.
The Secretary of State also confirmed that Iran has supplied ballistic missiles to Russia for use in Ukraine, announcing that new sanctions against Tehran are imminent. “Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” Blinken revealed.
Foreign Secretary Lammy, while acknowledging the discussions about Ukraine’s military needs, stressed the importance of operational secrecy: “It would, however, be quite wrong to comment on the detail of operational issues in a forum such as this, because the only person who could benefit is Putin.”
The potential shift in policy regarding long-range strikes comes as Ukraine argues that such capabilities would allow them to target Russian aircraft launching cruise missiles and guided bombs. As the war enters its third winter, both the US and UK officials emphasized their continued support for Ukraine and the need to adapt strategies to counter Russia’s escalating aggression.
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