Britain will not act “alone” and allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russia without US backing, The Times reports.
Five former defence secretaries and former prime minister Boris Johnson have urged Britain to allow the use of Storm Shadow missiles without US support.
And Ukrainian President Zelensky has called on Britain and the United States to overcome their “fear” and act “decisively” as momentum slows in Kursk and Belgorod.
But Britain’s action is still limited by its US guidance systems, seen as crucial to ensuring the missiles reach their targets, The Times reported. information.
However, the UK expects the US to back its support for Ukraine with a decision expected next week, and the Foreign Secretary insisted over the weekend that Putin’s threats of nuclear war with the US and Nato would not deter action.
Storm Shadow missiles are seen attached to the hardpoints of a Eurofighter Typhoon
Foreign Secretary Lammy has been involved in intensive diplomatic talks between the UK and the US in kyiv and Washington over the past week, which have so far failed to produce a decision.
Ukrainian servicemen drive Soviet-made T-64 tanks in the Sumy region on August 11.
Ukrainian soldiers fire mortars at Russian positions in Donetsk region, Ukraine
“It’s important that as allies supporting Ukraine we have a shared strategy for winning in the future,” Lammy told Laura Kuenssberg on BBC1 on Sunday.
“We have been discussing this with the United States and other key allies, but of course we are heading to the UN General Assembly where we will all meet in just under 12 days.”
Despite opposition within the United States, the US is expected to back the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York next week.
Keir Starmer and Joe Biden held talks in the Blue Room of the White House on Friday to discuss strategy on how to end the war in Ukraine, including the possibility of delivering Storm Shadow missiles to Zelenskyy.
To the disappointment of both sides, John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, later announced that “there will be no change in our policy” on allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles.
Vladimir Putin also warned that the West would be at war with Moscow if this changed, and that many of its air bases and logistics centres would be vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks if the restrictions were lifted.
According to US sources, Biden has not yet made a final decision.
Despite threats from Vladimir Putin that use of the weapons would amount to direct action against Russia by the UK, former defence officials and a former prime minister have urged the government to press ahead with the plan.
Boris Johnson has urged Sir Keir Starmer to break the impasse, warning that every day of delay costs lives.
Mr Johnson said after a visit to war victims in kyiv: “It is heartbreaking to visit wounded veterans in recovery centres, as I did in Kiev this weekend, where Ukrainian heroes are being treated for injuries they have sustained in recent months, and to think that some of these casualties could have been avoided if we had given Storm Shadow leave sooner.
“There is no reason to delay the situation. The only one who fears an escalation is Vladimir Putin, and every day that passes is a lost opportunity to save lives and achieve a just conclusion to this war.”
In his most outspoken comments on the conflict, Mr Zelensky questioned whether Western politicians really wanted Ukraine to win.
On Friday, he posted on X: “It’s hard to hear over and over again: ‘We’re working on this’ while Putin keeps burning our cities and towns. He doesn’t need anyone’s approval.
“Anyone who looks at a map clearly understands why Ukraine needs long-range capabilities. Russian military and logistical facilities are safe because we cannot reach them.
We know where they are. All of this can be destroyed in a few months. So what is missing to put an end to it? Strength? Decision? Or will?
Under the Conservative government, Lord Cameron (then Foreign Secretary) suggested that Ukraine should determine how its missiles would be used.
He said in May: ‘In terms of what the Ukrainians are doing, in our view, it is their decision on how to use these weapons, they are defending their country, they were illegally invaded by Putin and they must take those steps.
“We don’t dispute any of the caveats that we make about those things, but let’s be absolutely clear: Russia has launched an attack against Ukraine and Ukraine has every right to strike back at Russia.”
French President Emmanuel Macron even considered sending French troops to Ukraine to help defend the country if necessary.
Shortly afterwards, Russia reopened its counteroffensive at Kharkiv.
The assault was Russia’s biggest victory in 17 months, the Telegraph reported, covering an area of 250 square kilometres.
Russian troops advanced six miles before Ukraine stabilized the situation.
Russian President Putin has warned that allowing long-range strikes “would mean that NATO countries, the United States and European countries would be at war with Russia.”
Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Foreign Secretary David Lammy speak as they prepare for a meeting with US President Joe Biden on Friday
Ukrainian servicemen operate a tank on a road near the border with Russia, in the Sumy region of Ukraine, August 14, 2024.
The Foreign Secretary said talks were continuing with the United States and its allies over giving kyiv permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles to target Russian airbases and military sites being used to launch attacks on Ukraine.
The sudden incursion prompted the United States to abandon restrictions it had imposed on the exclusive use of weapons supplied to it against Russian targets inside Ukraine.
“The hallmark of our engagement has been to adapt and adjust as needed, to meet what’s actually happening on the battlefield, to make sure that Ukraine has what it needs, when it needs it,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at the time.
So far, the US has allowed kyiv to use US-supplied weapons only in a limited area within Russia’s border with Ukraine.
Shortly afterwards, Ukrainian missile attacks across the border followed, prompting outrage from Putin and his cronies and threats of nuclear annihilation toward Ukraine’s Western allies.
Ukraine was able to launch an offensive against Russia in early August, capturing dozens of villages in the Kursk and Belgorod regions.
But momentum has slowed in recent days and Russia has moved to halt the attack.
