The United States may soon allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets in Russian territory, according to reporting from the BBC.
This shift in policy comes after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken accused Iran's government of providing ballistic missiles to the Russian military. Blinken said the Islamic Republic’s support would enable further Russian aggression against Ukraine and blamed Russia’s President Vladamir Putin for taking “escalatory action.”
After Blinken’s accusation, the U.S., U.K., France, and Germany all imposed new sanctions on the regime in Iran.
But the most important policy change may come on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s President Volodymr Zelensky has long called for Western nations to loosen restrictions on the long-range missiles they have provided Ukraine.
Previously, the U.S. and its allies only permitted Ukraine to use Western-provided long-range missiles on targets within Ukraine’s own territory. They feared that a strike within Russia might provoke a regional escalation or perhaps even a nuclear war.
Now, U.S. President Joe Biden has signaled that he may allow Ukraine to use American-supplied missiles against military targets deep within Russia.
When asked by reporters if the U.S. would lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of the long-range weapons, Biden responded that his administration was “working that out now.”
On Wednesday, Sec. Blinken said Biden would likely discuss the use of long-range missiles with the U.K. Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.
The use of long-range missiles could prove critical to a Ukrainian victory. Russia has used air bases deep within its territory to launch devastating bombing attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure and civilians. The long-range missiles could allow Ukraine to now strike back against those air bases and prevent bombing raids.
