US could allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons against Russian targets amid fears of Iran missile deal

10 September 2024, 23:51 | Updated: 11 September 2024, 01:53

Ukraine is expected to be given permission by the US to use Western long-range missiles against Russian targets within weeks following a suspected supply of weapons to Moscow from Iran.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced a joint visit to Ukraine set to take place on Wednesday in which they will show support for Kyiv.

The trip will involve discussions over permission for Ukraine to use the long-range weapons to strike Russian territory, with US President Joe Biden and Sir Keir Starmer also set to discuss the issue in Washington on Friday.

This comes after the UK and US imposed fresh sanctions on Iran after it was accused by the two nations of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia.

Mr Lammy hailed the Kyiv trip as “the first of its kind in a decade”, at a press conference in London alongside his US counterpart on Tuesday.

Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelensky has repeatedly pushed for permission to use Western missiles to strike at targets within Vladimir Putin’s Russia.

The US has previously held reservations over doing so over concerns that Russia could respond with nuclear weapons but British government sources now believe there there could be a shift in the US position following the move by Iran.

At the joint press conference, Mr Blinken said: “One of the purposes of the trip we will be taking together is to hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership including President Zelensky about exactly how the Ukrainians see their needs in this moment, toward what objectives and what we can do to support those needs.

“All I can tell you is we will be listening intently to our Ukrainian partners, we will both be reporting back to the Prime Minister, to President Biden in the coming days and I fully anticipate this is something they will take up when they meet on Friday.”

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Asked whether Ukraine would be given permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, Mr Lammy said: “It’s hugely important that we’re travelling together to hear from our Ukrainian counterparts and President Zelensky their assessment of the situation on the ground and their needs on the ground.

“It would, however, be quite wrong to comment on the detail of operational issues in a forum such as this, because the only person who could benefit is Putin, and we will do nothing to give him any advantage in his illegal invasion.”

Among the new restrictions imposed on Iran following the suspected supply of missiles to Russia are travel bans and asset freezes on a number of Iranians accused of facilitating military support for Moscow.

Mr Blinken said Russians had been trained by Iranian forces to use short-range ballistic missiles that could be deployed against Ukrainians within weeks.

Meanwhile, Mr Blinken said the US has warned Iran that sending the weaponry to Russia to use in Ukraine would “constitute a dramatic escalation”.

“Russia has now received shipments of these ballistic missiles and will likely use them within weeks in Ukraine against Ukrainians,” he said.

Iran, as it has with previous US intelligence findings, has denied providing Russia with weapons for its war in Ukraine.

In response to the findings, the UK, along with France, Germany and Italy, is set to cancel its bilateral air services arrangement with Iran, which will restrict Iran Air’s ability to fly in the UK and Europe.

The UK and Washington also announced coordinated sanctions against Iranian and Russian individuals and organisations, while the UK has also sanctioned five Russian cargo ships thought to have been involved in ferrying arms.

Mr Lammy said: “Iran supplying Russia with ballistic missiles to fuel its illegal invasion of Ukraine is a significant and dangerous escalation.

“We have been clear in that any transfer of ballistic missiles by Iran would face a significant response. Today, alongside our international partners, we are calling out this behaviour and its attempts to undermine global security.

“Iran must stop supporting Putin’s unprovoked, premeditated and barbaric attack against a sovereign democratic state. The UK will stand with Ukraine for as long as it takes.”