US to Permit Ukraine Use of Long-Range Missiles for Strikes on Russia, According to Axios
Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce a policy change during his visit to Kiev alongside UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Read Full Article at RT.com.
TroibNews 
President Joe Biden has stated, “We’re working that out now.”
According to a report by Axios, Washington plans to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles to target areas within Russian territory. This information comes from a well-known congressional figure. The limitations were initially imposed to maintain a narrative that the US and its allies were not directly involved in the conflict while providing over $200 billion in support to Ukraine. Since May, Kiev has been urging for these restrictions to be lifted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce this policy shift during his visit to Kiev alongside UK counterpart David Lammy this week, as reported by Axios journalist Juliegrace Brufke, who cited Congressman Michael McCaul. McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, shared, “I talked to Blinken two days ago, and he is traveling with his counterpart from the UK to Kiev to basically tell them that they will allow them [to hit Russia with ATACMS].”
Matt Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, confirmed that Blinken will be in Kiev on Wednesday “to show continued support for Ukraine’s defense,” but did not announce any policy changes at that time.
In a related development, Bloomberg reported that Blinken had “signaled” a shift in Washington’s stance, which comes amid allegations that Iran has provided Russia with ballistic missiles. At a press conference in London with Lammy, Blinken remarked, “We’re going to look and to listen” to Ukraine’s request, adding that Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would discuss the “missile issue” on Friday in Washington.
“We’re working that out now,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday when queried about Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles.
Blinken claimed that Iran had supplied a certain number of Fath-360 missiles to Russia, defying several months of Western cautions, stating that Moscow would use these against Ukraine “within weeks.”
Iran has vehemently rejected this accusation, asserting that it has not aided either side in the conflict. Senior military commander Fazlollah Nozari remarked to Iranian media on Monday, “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani added, “Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war.”
Russian UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the West of being heavily involved in the Ukraine conflict, stating that the issue of arming Kiev would be discussed at the Security Council on Friday.
Despite ongoing discussions, the Pentagon reiterated as recently as August 27 that its policy on utilizing long-range weapons had not changed, prior to a visit from Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Andrey Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who presented a list of Russian targets for potential strikes.
Ukraine has made several drone incursions as far as Moscow, notable for an incident in May 2023 when a drone crashed on the Kremlin's roof. Just this past Tuesday, another Ukrainian drone strike targeted a residential building in the Moscow Region, resulting in one civilian death and injuring three others.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
According to a report by Axios, Washington plans to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of US-supplied ATACMS missiles to target areas within Russian territory. This information comes from a well-known congressional figure. The limitations were initially imposed to maintain a narrative that the US and its allies were not directly involved in the conflict while providing over $200 billion in support to Ukraine. Since May, Kiev has been urging for these restrictions to be lifted.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is expected to announce this policy shift during his visit to Kiev alongside UK counterpart David Lammy this week, as reported by Axios journalist Juliegrace Brufke, who cited Congressman Michael McCaul. McCaul, a Texas Republican and chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, shared, “I talked to Blinken two days ago, and he is traveling with his counterpart from the UK to Kiev to basically tell them that they will allow them [to hit Russia with ATACMS].”
Matt Miller, a spokesman for the State Department, confirmed that Blinken will be in Kiev on Wednesday “to show continued support for Ukraine’s defense,” but did not announce any policy changes at that time.
In a related development, Bloomberg reported that Blinken had “signaled” a shift in Washington’s stance, which comes amid allegations that Iran has provided Russia with ballistic missiles. At a press conference in London with Lammy, Blinken remarked, “We’re going to look and to listen” to Ukraine’s request, adding that Biden and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer would discuss the “missile issue” on Friday in Washington.
“We’re working that out now,” Biden told reporters on Tuesday when queried about Ukraine’s use of long-range missiles.
Blinken claimed that Iran had supplied a certain number of Fath-360 missiles to Russia, defying several months of Western cautions, stating that Moscow would use these against Ukraine “within weeks.”
Iran has vehemently rejected this accusation, asserting that it has not aided either side in the conflict. Senior military commander Fazlollah Nozari remarked to Iranian media on Monday, “No missile was sent to Russia and this claim is a kind of psychological warfare.” Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani added, “Iran’s accusers are the ones who are among the biggest arms exporters to one side of the war.”
Russian UN ambassador Vassily Nebenzia accused the West of being heavily involved in the Ukraine conflict, stating that the issue of arming Kiev would be discussed at the Security Council on Friday.
Despite ongoing discussions, the Pentagon reiterated as recently as August 27 that its policy on utilizing long-range weapons had not changed, prior to a visit from Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Andrey Yermak, chief of staff to President Volodymyr Zelensky, who presented a list of Russian targets for potential strikes.
Ukraine has made several drone incursions as far as Moscow, notable for an incident in May 2023 when a drone crashed on the Kremlin's roof. Just this past Tuesday, another Ukrainian drone strike targeted a residential building in the Moscow Region, resulting in one civilian death and injuring three others.
Frederick R Cook contributed to this report for TROIB News
