Biden-Starmer talks not in favour of long-range missile usage by Ukraine
- In Reports
- 07:03 PM, Sep 14, 2024
- Myind Staff
In a recent meeting with the former President of the United States Joe Biden in Washington, Sir Keir Starmer, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom did not signal any decision on allowing Ukraine to shoot long-range missiles at targets inside Russia. However, he responded by remarking that they had "a long and productive discussion on a number of fronts, including Ukraine", when asked if he persuaded Joe Biden to fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia
According to the White House, they also expressed "deep concern about Iran and North Korea's provision of lethal weapons to Russia".
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia had launched over 70 Iranian-made drones across Ukraine overnight early on Friday. He also said that his country needed more air defence and long-range capabilities "to protect life and our people". "We are working on this with all Ukrainian partners," he remarked.
Prior to the talks at the White House, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Western nations not to let Ukraine fire long-range missiles at Russia. He remarked such a move would represent NATO's "direct participation" in the Ukraine war.
However, according to former defence secretary Sir Ben Wallace, the NATO should let Ukraine bomb Russia using long-range missiles despite the warnings from Putin. He further added that wrangling was just benefiting the Russian president. “I'm just disappointed that it's yet again another tug of war around another capability," the former Conservative MP asserted.
According to former US special representative for Ukraine negotiations Kurt Volker, Putin's comments were made to prevent further Western action. “The reason Putin says those things is to achieve the result of deterring us from doing things - not that it has any bearing on what he's really going to do or really thinks," Kurt Volker told at a programme. Speaking in the debate over long-range missiles, he said the US "overplays the sense that this is a new red line that this would be so provocative to Russia that it would create some kind of new escalation".
"I don't think much about Vladimir Putin,” Biden said while addressing reporters ahead of his meeting with Sir Keir at the White House.
However, the US and the UK have so far refused to grant permission for the use of long-range missiles in strikes against targets inside Russia out of concern for an escalation. Zelensky, however, has maintained that using long-range missiles is the only way to end the conflict and has thus requested approval from Kyiv's Western allies from the outset.
Since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine started in February 2022, the country's cities and front lines have been constantly bombarded. Deep within Russia, aircraft launched numerous missiles and glide bombs that struck hospitals, residential and military buildings in Ukraine, as well as energy infrastructure. Kyiv claims that its ability to defend itself is diminished by being unable to attack bases from which these kinds of attacks are launched.
The UK previously stated that Ukraine had a "clear right" to use British-provided weapons for "self-defence" which "does not preclude operations inside Russia", following Kyiv's surprise cross-border incursion last month.
This, however, excludes the deployment of long-range Storm Shadow missiles beyond the internationally acknowledged borders of Ukraine. Earlier this year, the US gave Ukraine long-range missiles; however, unlike Kyiv's other Western allies, these missiles are not authorised for use against targets located deep inside Russia.
Image source: BBC
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