WARSAW (news agencies) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.
Blinken traveled to Warsaw after spending a day in Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during which they pledged to bring the Ukrainian requests to their leaders.
U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are to meet in the United States on Friday amid signs both Washington and London are growing more receptive to allowing the Ukrainians to use their arms to hit targets farther inside Russia than previously okayed.
“As what Russia’s doing has changed, as the battlefield has changed, we’ve adapted,” Blinken said at a news conference in Warsaw.
Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense, but has largely limited the distance they can be fired.
Just last week Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pushed back on the long-range ask, noting that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems including drones.
One of the key requests from Kyiv is to strike with U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. The Pentagon has noted they wouldn’t be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian fired glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers away, beyond the ATACMS reach, said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz.
In addition, the U.S. supply of ATACMS missiles, which can cost up to $1.5 million each depending on the variant, are “finite,” Dietz said. “We need to be judicious about where and when they are deployed.”
At Ramstein Air Base last week Austin said the arguments the Ukrainians have used for long range strikes are like the discussions the U.S. had with Ukraine over Abrams tanks. While those systems were ultimately provided, they are currently not being used.
“I don’t believe one specific capability will be decisive, and I stand by that comment,” Austin said in Germany.
In Warsaw, Blinken said, “One of the purposes of my visit to Kyiv yesterday was to hear from our Ukrainian partners what they believe they need now to deal with the current battlefield, including in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country”
“I can tell you that as we go forward we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust as necessary … in order to defend against Russian aggression,” Blinken said.
He delivered a similar message in Kyiv a day earlier. In both cases, the language was similar to that which he used in May, shortly before the U.S. green-lit Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons just inside Russian territory.
The diplomatic visit unfolded as Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army bears down on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and conducts aerial attacks on cities across the country using missiles, glide bombs and drones that claim many civilian casualties.
NATO member Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has been supportive of the Ukrainians and Blinken heard requests for easing weapons-use restrictions from Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.
Sikorski argued that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons against Russia in self-defense, because “Russia is committing war crimes by attacking civilian targets.”
“Missiles that hit these civilian targets are fired from bomber aircraft from over the territory of Russia. These bombers take off from airfields on Russia’s territory,” Sikorski said. “A victim of aggression has the right to defend itself.”
“So I believe that Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons to prevent war crimes,” Sikorski added.
Blinken also met in Warsaw with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who share Sikorski’s pro-Ukraine stance.
On Wednesday, Blinken and Lammy announced that the United States and Britain had pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during their visit to Kyiv. Blinken announced more than $700 million in humanitarian aid, while Lammy confirmed that his country would provide another $782 million in assistance and loan guarantees.
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