Biden Could Lift Long-Range Missile Ban Within Weeks-Reports

A number of mediareports suggest that US President Joe Biden could lift his administration's ban on Ukraine firing Western-made long-range missiles at military targets in the Russian Federation. Comes as UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who is believed to favour a lifting of the ban, is set to visit the White House on 13 September.

• At a presser in London on 10 Sep, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said, when asked about lifting the ban, that Biden was “not ruling it out”. The delivery of Iranian ballistic missiles to Russia, which Blinken said could be deployed against Ukraine in weeks, could lead to a change in US position given the massive increase in threat to Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
• Previously, the US was concerned that Moscow would see the use of such missiles against Russian territory as escalatory and NATO becoming directly involved in the war. There is also the issue of supply, as allowing Kyiv to fire missiles far into Russia would increase the number of targets, thereby increasing the number of missiles utilised.
• On 10 Sep, when asked if he was reconsidering his stance, Biden said his administration was "working that out now".
• Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy are in Kyiv todayfor talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. He is likely to further impress on the diplomats his military's need to strike deep into Russia to degrade President Vladimir Putin's war machine currently advancing in the Donbas.