UK’s Starmer in Washington for Talks with Biden on Ukraine Missile Use

LONDON – British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is set to meet U.S. President Joe Biden on Friday to discuss the next steps in supporting Ukraine, with a focus on the potential use of Western missiles against targets in Russia.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has been urging allies for months to allow Ukraine to deploy long-range Western missiles, such as U.S. ATACMS and British Storm Shadows, to strike deep into Russia and hinder Moscow’s capability to conduct attacks.

Reports indicate that the United States may approve the use of long-range missiles by Ukraine against Russian targets, provided these weapons are not supplied by the U.S.

On Thursday, President Vladimir Putin warned that permitting Ukraine to use long-range Western missiles to strike Russian territory would mean that the West is directly engaging in conflict with Russia, fundamentally changing the conflict’s character.

Attention now shifts to the discussions in Washington following a recent joint visit to Kyiv by U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy. During this visit, both allied leaders expressed continued support for Ukraine but did not reach a definitive agreement regarding missile usage.

On Wednesday, Lammy indicated that discussions could extend beyond Friday, suggesting that concrete announcements from Starmer’s visit may not be forthcoming.

While en route to Washington, Starmer explained, "We will, of course, be talking about many things in the round, but this is not just a series of individual decisions that we want to arrive at. It is about ensuring that all the decisions we make fit within a strategic context."