The US policy of not allowing Ukraine to use their robots against targets deep inside Russia remains. This was said by White House spokesman John Kirby in connection with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington on Friday.
No new decision was communicated after the meeting – where the Middle East, China, AI and trade were also on the agenda, says BBC political editor Chris Mason in the media channel’s podcast Global news.
The war in Ukraine
No word on long-range weapons against Russia
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Mason sees it as likely that the NATO countries are getting closer to somehow jointly giving the green light for Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
– But it is likely that there will be no announcement at all, because an announcement could be seen as provocative. When and if a decision is made, we will only find out when a weapon like this is used in Russia, says Chris Mason.
Want to avoid escalation
Jan Hallenberg, associate senior researcher at the Institute for Foreign Policy, is on the same track. He believes that the media reporting on the meeting between Biden and Starmer was partially incorrect with an exaggerated expectation of a public announcement. That because Biden prioritizes avoiding further escalation.
– There will be a decision, if there is not already one, but it will not be clearly announced, but it will only become clear when these robots land on Russian soil, which I believe will happen within the next few months, says Hallenberg in P1 Morning.
The talks continue
The discussions on long-range weapons are expected to continue in connection with the UN General Assembly next week. Ukraine has requested to be allowed to use so-called Atacms robots to a greater extent, with a range of 30 miles.
In London, according to information to The Guardian, a decision has already been made to let Ukraine fire robots of the Storm Shadow type against Russia,
Clear signs for Ukraine to strike with advanced weapons against targets further into Russia would mean NATO being drawn into war against Russia, Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened.