U.S. President Joe Biden may permit Ukraine to launch strikes deep into Russian territory, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in an interview with Sky News.
Blinken's remarks followed a news conference in London where he noted that Iran has supplied Moscow with short-range missiles, which Russia's forces are expected to deploy in Ukraine within weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the U.S. and other Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles to strike targets within Russia, aiming to increase pressure on Moscow to end the war.
In an interview with Yalda Hakim on Sky News, Blinken was asked if President Biden might consider allowing such actions as the war continues. Blinken responded that the U.S. has ensured Ukraine receives "what it needed, when it needed it, to be effective in repelling the Russian aggression" since the start of the all-out war in February 2022.
However, Blinken emphasized that Washington must weigh other factors, including whether Ukraine's forces can operate and maintain the "sophisticated systems" provided by Western allies: " What I can tell you is, we've adapted and adjusted every step along the way, and we'll continue — so not ruling out at this stage."
"(...) We never rule out. But when we rule in, we want to make sure it's done in such a way that it can advance what the Ukrainians are trying to achieve," Blinked said. He later told reporters at the White House that his administration was "working that out now" when asked if the U.S. would lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons.
Asami Terajima
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