US to Discuss Permitting Ukraine ATACMS Strikes on Russia

The U.S. will this week discuss the possibility of Ukraine using its long-range weaponry to strike targets deep inside Russia, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Tuesday.

Blinken made the remarks at a press briefing alongside British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during a visit to London, where it was announced that the pair would travel to Kyiv this week, marking the first joint visit of its kind for more than a decade.

Kyiv has long urged its Western allies, including the U.S., to allow it to strike targets deep within Russian territory using weaponry such as the Washington-supplied ATACMS, ground-launched ballistic missiles. The U.S. has so far prevented Ukraine from doing so, fearing escalation in the conflict launched by Russian President Vladimir Putin in February 2022.

"Has the time come to allow Ukraine the freedom to use the long-range missiles you're supplying them to hit targets deep in Russia, and if not, why not?" Blinken was asked at the press briefing.

Blinken said the topic would be discussed during his visit with Lammy to Kyiv this week.

"One of the purposes of the trip that we'll be taking together is to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs, in this moment, to what objectives, and what we can do to support those needs," he said.

"So all I can tell you is we'll be listening intently to our Ukrainian partners. We'll both be reporting back to the prime minister [Keir Starmer], to President Biden, in the coming days, and I fully anticipate this is something they will take up when they meet on Friday," Blinken continued.

Newsweek has contacted Russia's Defense Ministry for comment by email.

The Secretary of State said that a hallmark from day one of Washington's efforts to support Ukraine in the war "is to work to make sure they have what they need, when they need it, to be most effective in dealing with the Russian aggression."

"I think you've seen, again, from day one, that we've continuously adjusted and adapted based on battlefield conditions, based on what Russia was doing in a given place, by given means," Blinken said.

"It's so important that, when we're making these decisions, we factor in a number of critical elements. It's not just the system itself that counts. You have to ask, can the Ukrainians effectively use it? Sometimes, that requires significant training, which we've done. Do they have the ability to maintain it? Again, this is something that we've worked on. Is it part of an effective strategy? All these are questions that we're continuously asking ourselves," he added.

Earlier on Tuesday, Andriy Yermak, the head of Zelensky's office, called on the U.S. in a post on Telegram to grant Ukraine permission "to use Western weapons against military targets on Russian territory" as well as "the transfer of longer-range missiles and the strengthening of our air defense."

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