Janice R. Andrews
U.S. President Joe Biden played down recent threats from Russian President Vladimir Putin about Western support for Ukraine in a very important meeting on Friday. Putin had said that letting Ukraine use long-range weapons on Russian land would mean that Russia and NATO would be at odds with each other. But Biden didn’t seem to be bothered by these threats. He seemed to show that he would continue to back Ukraine, but he didn’t say anything about changing policy right away.
Before the meeting between Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, high-level diplomats from both countries went to Kyiv. Ukraine has been asking the US and its European partners for a long time to loosen restrictions on long-range weapons provided by the West. Kyiv thinks this is necessary to get ahead in the war. So far, Biden has been careful about making these kinds of choices because they could make things worse with Russia.
Push for Long-Range Weapons
More long-range weapons have been made available to Ukraine so that it can attack Russian military bases deeper inside Russian land. At the moment, weapons supplied by the United States can only be used in a small area close to Russia’s border. In Kyiv, people think that expanding these lines will make it harder for Russia to attack and keep up its military facilities.
Reports say that Prime Minister Starmer was trying to get Biden’s support to let Ukraine use British-made Storm Shadow missiles to launch more attacks inside Russia. Since some of these weapons were made in the U.S., they would probably need permission from Washington before they could be used in that way. Unnamed U.S. officials who were involved in the talks said that Biden seemed open to the idea, but no official decision was made. Starmer talked about how important the talks were, saying, “This was a really important invitation from the president to have this level of discussion about those very important issues.”
“Putin’s Warnings Ignored”
Putin had said the day before Biden’s talk with Starmer that letting Ukraine strike deep into Russian territory would be seen as an act of war by NATO and the US. But this story isn’t new; since the war started in 2022, the Kremlin has often said that NATO is indirectly involved in it. Biden was asked about Putin’s threats by the media before his secret meeting with Starmer. He simply said, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”
In Kyiv, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy of Ukraine has been calling for weapons from the West to be used against Russian airbases and launch sites that are far from Ukraine’s borders. As Russian troops continue to attack Ukraine’s energy infrastructure before the hard winter months, Zelenskyy thinks that attacking deeper into Russian territory could change the course of the war. On social media, he made his point clear by writing, “The war must become harder for Russia—that is the only way to make them realize it must end.”
The West is arguing about escalation.
It is becoming more popular in both the US and Europe to make it easier for Western guns to be used. A lot of military and security experts say that Russia’s earlier threats to escalate the conflict didn’t come true and that keeping these restrictions in place only makes it harder for Ukraine to make progress in the conflict. George Barros, an analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, said that even a few deep hits inside Russia could make it very hard for Russia to get its troops and supplies to other countries.
On the other hand, the Biden government has kept a low profile. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said, “There is no silver bullet when it comes to things like this,” which shows how complicated the problem is. There is a lot of worry in the government that the situation could get worse and involve more countries, possibly even NATO. A spokesman for the Pentagon, Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz, said that giving Ukraine long-range weapons like the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) might not be the best idea. The U.S. thinks these systems wouldn’t be able to handle Ukraine’s current problems, like the threat from Russian glide bombs with a long range.
In spite of this, Biden recently hinted at a possible change in strategy. When asked if it would be possible to loosen restrictions on guns, he said, “We’re working that out now,” which means that talks are still going on.
The Effects on Global Diplomacy as a Whole
Biden’s talk with Starmer was about more than just Ukraine. The two leaders also talked about other important problems facing the world, such as the ongoing conflicts in Gaza and worries about China’s growing power in the Indo-Pacific area. Also, tensions between the UK and Russia rose this week when Russia accused six British officials of spying. The Starmer government quickly denied the accusation as false.
Recently, the Biden government has also paid more attention to how the war in Ukraine is changing things in the Middle East. The United States has been worried about Iran’s backing for Russia, which includes the recent delivery of short-range ballistic weapons by Iran. These weapons allow Russia to save its other arsenal for attacks deeper into Ukraine, which makes the situation even worse.
John Kirby, a White House spokesman on national security, said that the rising relationship between Russia and Iran is a threat to national security in both Europe and Ukraine. Kirby said, referring to Iran’s unstable power outside of the Middle East, “it certainly speaks to the way in which this partnership threatens European security.”
The meeting between Biden and Starmer shows how hard it is for the US and its partners to make sure they help Ukraine without starting a bigger fight with Russia. Even though no decisions were made right away, the fact that Biden was open to the idea of more weapons use says that the U.S. may be about to change its strategy. But it’s still not clear what would happen if Russia did that. Everyone is keeping a close eye on Russia to see how it reacts to the next step of Western action in Ukraine.
