On September 13th, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer met with US President Joe Biden at the White House and revealed that no final decision has been made regarding long-range strikes inside Russia for Ukraine. This comes after Ukraine’s appeals for support amid escalated Russian air attacks on their cities.
Despite the urgency of the situation, Western countries, including the US and UK, have restricted Ukraine’s use of their long-range weapons like ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles. This is allegedly to prevent further escalation of the conflict.
According to Politico, Starmer stated after the meeting, “We’ve come to a strong position,” but emphasized that “this wasn’t a meeting about a particular capability.” He hinted at potential further developments, saying, “We’ll obviously pick up again in UNGA [UN General Assembly] in just a few days time with a wider group of individuals.”
The White House also released a statement reaffirming their support for Ukraine in defending against Russia’s aggression. They also expressed concern about Iran and North Korea providing weapons to Russia and China’s support for Russia’s defense industry.
In response to Russian President Vladimir Putin‘s claim that allowing deep strikes would put NATO countries at war with Russia, Biden dismissed it, saying, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.” When asked about when he would allow Ukraine to fire missiles deeper into Russia, Biden responded, “We’re going to discuss that now,” according to Politico.
Prior to the meeting, Starmer had not ruled out allowing Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles despite Putin’s threats. He stated, “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.”
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