The West has probably already decided to allow Ukraine to conduct long-range strikes within Russian territory, the Kremlin has said, adding that Moscow would have an “appropriate” response if that happened.
Ukraine has long pressed the U.S. and the U.K. to drop the restriction on long-range weapons being used for strikes inside Russia over concerns that this would escalate the war.
Kyiv says it needs long-range weapons such as ATACMS (Army Tactical Missile System) to target air bases used by Russia’s warplanes that launch glide bombs against Ukraine often from deep inside Russian territory. British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles with a range of around 150 miles have been used against Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory only.
A British Storm Shadow/Scalp missile is displayed at the Farnborough Airshow, southern England, on July 17, 2018. The Kremlin has said that it would respond if Ukraine’s allies dropped the prohibition on such weapons being used for strikes deep in Russian territory.
BEN STANSALL/Getty Images
When asked if Washington would drop the restrictions, President Joe Biden said on Tuesday that his administration was “working that out now.”
However, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that “most likely, of course, all these decisions have already been made,” by the West regarding dropping the prohibition on long-range weapons, the state news agency Tass reported.
“This can be assumed with a high degree of probability,” Peskov told Russian media. “At the moment, the media is simply conducting such an information campaign to formalize the decision that has already been made,” he added.
“Efforts are ongoing by the U.S. and European governments to distance themselves from involvement in this conflict,” Peskov said. “U.S. and European involvement in Ukraine is becoming more direct.”
If Ukraine were given permission to use weapons for strikes deep into Russia, Peskov said that Moscow would come up with “an appropriate response,” although he added “there is no need to expect some kind of response everywhere.”
Vyacheslav Volodin, the chair of Russia’s Duma, the lower house of Parliament, had earlier accused Washington and the U.K. of “becoming parties to the war in Ukraine.” He said that such a move means that Russia “will be forced to respond using more powerful and destructive weapons to protect its citizens.”
Newsweek has contacted the State Department and the British Foreign Ministry for comment.
On Tuesday, Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) posted on X, formerly Twitter, a letter he co-signed with other lawmakers, calling for Biden to lift restrictions on the long-range weapons, writing, “we need to remove the handcuffs and give Ukraine every advantage.”
The issue will be a focus of Secretary of State Antony Blinken‘s visit to Kyiv with U.K. Foreign Secretary David Lammy. Biden is also likely to discuss the issue with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer when they meet in Washington on Friday.
