U.S. officials and lawmakers have fired back after Russian President Vladimir Putin said that lifting NATO restrictions on Ukraine and potentially launching long-range attacks on Russia would mean NATO countries are “at war” with Russia.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer will meet U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday and the two are expected to discuss, but not necessarily announce, easing restrictions on Storm Shadow missiles that would allow Ukraine to strike targets within 155 miles inside Russia.
“This means that NATO countries, that is, the United States and European countries, are at war with Russia,” Putin told Russian reporters on Thursday. “If this is the case, we will take appropriate decisions in response to the threat posed to us, bearing in mind the changing nature of the conflict.”
The missile is jointly produced by Britain and France, and both countries appear to be seeking permission from President Biden to ease restrictions on the use of long-range missiles. Western officials have suggested the United States is not willing to allow its missiles to be used to strike targets deep inside Russian soil.
Washington and London have signaled they do not plan to announce a change in policy, and Moscow's U.N. ambassador told the Security Council on Friday that easing restrictions would mean an escalation into “direct war” between Moscow and NATO.
The remarks sparked a furious backlash in Washington, where officials accused Putin of using military threats to intimidate NATO countries into stopping their support for Ukraine.
Sen. Jim Risch, ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said Ukraine should have the authority to strike targets deep inside Russian soil, including Russian bombers that have been firing missiles at Ukrainian cities.
“Putin's latest threats of direct confrontation with NATO are merely an attempt to get the West to stop supporting Ukraine,” Risch said. “He knows that a long-range attack from Ukraine would seriously damage his war effort. Several Russian missiles have landed on NATO territory, but NATO has not escalated tensions.”
“Ukraine must be given the right to defend itself. If that means attacking Russian bombers that fire missiles at Ukrainian civilians from Russian airspace, Ukraine should be able to do so,” he added.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Friday that no announcement would likely be made about lifting restrictions on the use of British and French-supplied missiles in Ukraine.
But at the same time, he said the United States and its NATO allies “have their own calculations that will determine what to offer Ukraine.”
“I've never said we don't take Putin's threats seriously. If he starts brandishing nuclear weapons, for example, we'll take that seriously. We're constantly monitoring it. It's clear that he has the capacity to get aggressive. It's clear that he has the capacity for escalation. But it's not something we haven't heard before. So we're watching it. We understand it,” Kirby said.
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This will be Biden and Starmer's second meeting at the White House, following last month's NATO summit and coming just days after Labour won the UK general election, returning to power after 14 years in opposition.
The two leaders are expected to discuss a range of foreign policy issues, including Ukraine, the Middle East conflict and the UK, Australia and US-Australia alliance.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to present a “victory plan” to President Biden on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly later this month, as pressure on Ukraine grows ahead of a US presidential election that could return Donald Trump to power.
As heated discussions about the future of the war take place behind closed doors, Washington and its allies remain committed to supporting Ukraine in the fight.
“We're going to do everything we can to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs to defend itself,” White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre said Friday. “That's our commitment. As you've seen, this administration and our partners and allies are providing very focused and significant support to do just that, and you can expect that.”
