British Prime Minister Keir Starmer has rejected Russian President Vladimir Putin’s claim that allowing the West to use more long-range weapons for attacks deep inside Russian territory would be tantamount to NATO’s involvement in the war. Britain does not want a conflict with Russia, Starmer said on the way to Washington. “Ukraine has a right to self-defence,” which Britain fully supports and offers training opportunities in this context. “But we are not looking for a conflict with Russia – that is not our intention in the slightest,” stressed the British Prime Minister.
Kyiv has repeatedly asked Britain and the US to authorize the use of long-range missiles so that Ukraine can use them to attack targets in the Russian hinterland. This is also likely to be a topic at Starmer’s meeting with US President Joe Biden in Washington today. “I want to make sure tomorrow that these discussions, the tactical discussions, are put in the right strategic context of the situation in Ukraine,” Starmer stressed.
No official line communicated so far
According to official statements, the USA is limiting the use of its weapons against Russia to defending against the Russian offensive against the eastern Ukrainian city of Kharkiv. The British government has not yet commented specifically on the question of what exactly it is allowing Ukraine to do with the weapons it has made available. According to a report in the British “Guardian”, the decision has already been made to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow cruise missiles on targets deep inside Russia.
Kremlin chief Putin has interpreted a possible Ukrainian use of Western long-range precision weapons against targets deep on Russian territory as NATO’s involvement in the war. “This will mean that NATO countries, the USA, European countries will fight with Russia,” he said in response to a question from a journalist in St. Petersburg. Putin went on to say that this would change the nature of the war. “We will make appropriate decisions based on the threats we will face,” he said, without giving any details.
“Russia started this conflict. Russia invaded Ukraine illegally,” Starmer continued. “Russia could end this conflict immediately.”
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