Biden, Starmer discuss long-range missiles for Ukraine

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden will discuss in Washington on Friday whether Kiev should be allowed to use long-range missiles against Russia, ahead of a presidential election in the United States with considerable stakes for Ukraine.

kyiv is demanding that its allies lift restrictions to allow it to strike deep into Russian soil at military targets deemed “legitimate”, such as air bases from which planes bombing Ukraine take off.

But Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that allowing Ukraine to strike Russian territory with longer-range missiles would mean that “NATO countries are at war with Russia”.

According to British media, Joe Biden, who fears a nuclear conflict, is prepared to allow Ukraine to deploy British and French missiles using American technology, but not the American missiles themselves.

The talks come at a tense time in the midst of the US presidential campaign. In a debate this week against his Democratic rival Kamala Harris, Republican candidate Donald Trump repeatedly refused to say he hoped Kiev would win the war against Russia.

“I want the war to stop,” he said.

During the visit, his second to Washington since taking office in July, Keir Starmer is due to meet Joe Biden in the Oval Office at 4:30 p.m. (2030 GMT). “These are strategic meetings to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East,” the British leader said on Thursday.

Last week, the Starmer government announced the suspension of around thirty out of a total of 350 arms export licences to Israel, considering that there was “a risk” that they would be used in violation of international humanitarian law in Gaza.

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Israel's primary military supporter, the United States refused to criticise London's decision. But according to the American media outlet Politico, Washington asked London what it would take to change its decision. The answer: a ceasefire in Gaza.

– “Defend ourselves effectively” –

But it is Ukraine that will remain at the centre of the discussions. On Tuesday, Joe Biden said the United States was “working” to allow Ukraine to use longer-range missiles against Russia.

The top diplomats of the United States and Britain, Antony Blinken and David Lammy, made a rare joint visit to kyiv on Wednesday.

“We will adapt as necessary, including in terms of the means that Ukraine has to defend itself effectively against Russian aggression,” the US Secretary of State said the following day in Poland.

But Vladimir Putin warned the Western powers: “This would change the very nature of the conflict.”

Washington currently authorizes kyiv to strike only Russian targets in occupied Ukraine and some in Russian border regions directly linked to Moscow's combat operations.

Joe Biden has strongly supported Ukraine since the Russian invasion in February 2022, to the tune of billions of dollars in aid. But he has been reluctant to speed up arms deliveries, as Ukraine had to wait this year to receive F-16 jets.

With the US election looming, the clock is ticking for kyiv, faced with the possibility of a victory for Donald Trump, who is neck and neck in the polls with Kamala Harris.

During the debate, the Republican candidate, who has often sung the praises of Vladimir Putin, pledged to conclude, if elected, a deal to end the war “even before” he officially becomes president. A deal that many Ukrainians fear will force them to accept that Russia will hold on to conquered territories.

Kamala Harris has promised to continue to firmly support Ukraine, in line with her current administration.

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