Both the United States and Great Britain have discussed whether Ukraine should be allowed to use weapons donated by the countries deep inside Russia.
Ukraine’s foreign minister, Andrij Sybiha, met the US and UK foreign ministers, Antony Blinken and David Lammy, on Wednesday. Then he spoke at a press conference about the need to lift the restrictions.
– It is important to lift all restrictions on the use of American and British weapons against legitimate targets in Russia, said Sybiha
From the American side, they promised to work further on the issue. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also meet in Washington on Friday.
Putin: “Would change the very nature of the conflict”
Due to the fact that the restrictions on long-range weapons may be lifted, Russian President Vladimir Putin made a statement on Thursday.
– It would change the very nature of the conflict in a significant way, Putin told state-controlled Russian media.
The former lieutenant colonel Jörgen Elfving believes that similar threats have come from Russia in the past
– I see his statement as another part of the Russian theory. The Western support for Ukraine has always been seen as the West waging a war by proxy, i.e. Ukraine, says Elfving.
He sees the statement as part of trying to get the West to exercise restraint in what it lets Ukraine do with Western military equipment. But also to influence public opinion for future support to Ukraine.
– Regarding the red lines, the West has crossed them before, it has never resulted in any action, says Elfving.
Likely target: Air bases in Russia
If the restrictions on long-range weapons were to be lifted and Ukraine is allowed to fire at targets further into Russia, it could have affected Russia’s ability to, for example, use cruise missiles against Ukraine.
– It is likely that the targets are Russian air bases. It helps to partly remove weapons carriers who can carry weapons that can strike Ukrainian targets in depth, says Elfving and adds:
– It can also eliminate Russian superiority in the air.
At the same time, they may be used against targets such as oil refineries and Russian defense industry, targets that Ukraine has previously attacked with drones.