KYIV: The United States and Britain on Wednesday pledged almost $1.5 billion in aid to Ukraine and promised to quickly consider a request to ease restrictions on weapons to hit Russia deeper.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rare joint visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity as concerns grow.
The alleged acquisition of Iranian missiles near Russia threatens to increase Moscow's firepower and the US election in less than two months could dramatically change the position of Ukraine's top backers.
Blinken, who took the nine-hour train ride to Kyiv with Lammy, said the United States would offer Ukraine $717 million in new economic aid.
About half of it will be funded by the United States to strengthen Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, which was bombarded by Russia just before winter.
Blinken accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dusting off a “winter playbook” to “bring the cold to the Ukrainian people.”
“Our support will not decrease, our unity will not be broken,” Blinken told a news conference in Kyiv.
“Putin will not outlast the unity of nations committed to Ukraine's success, and he certainly won't outlast the Ukrainian people.”
Lammy reinstated the two-month-old Labor government to provide 600 billion pounds ($782 million) in economic aid to Ukraine.
He said Britain, which has been pushing to ease restrictions on the use of weapons in Ukraine, would supply Ukraine with hundreds of new missiles this year.
Russia has advanced on a major military base in Pokrovsk in eastern Donetsk region, a month after Kyiv launched a counter-offensive in Russia's Kursk region.
President Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up his demands from the West in recent months for more weapons and less restrictions.
“It is important to remove all restrictions on the use of American and British weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said at a conference with his friends, who met with Zelensky earlier.
Blinken said the US would review the request “urgently” and it would be discussed on Friday in Washington when President Joe Biden meets with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Biden, asked in Washington on Tuesday whether he would allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons in strikes against Russian targets, said: “We are working on that right now.”
Biden, although a strong supporter of Ukraine, has previously made it clear that he wants to avoid direct confrontation between the United States and Russia, the world's two largest nuclear powers.
Asked how Moscow would respond to the missile's extended range, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the response was “possible,” without giving specifics.
He said the authorization of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory would be “further evidence” of why Moscow carried out the attack, which he said was “retaliation” for Western support for Ukraine.
The United States has said it believes Russia could start firing Iranian missiles at Ukraine within weeks.
Wealthy Iran has gone ahead with missile sales despite repeated warnings from Western powers, which announced new sanctions on the cleric-ruled state on Tuesday.
The Iranian launch has raised fears that Moscow will be free to use its long-range missiles in unincorporated areas in western Ukraine.
The United States earlier this year gave its blessing to Ukraine to use Western weapons against Russian forces in the event of a direct conflict across the border.
British media reports said Biden was meant to end opposition to allowing Ukraine to fire Storm Shadow missiles far from Russia.
One key thing Ukraine is asking for is to lift restrictions on the U.S.-provided Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which can reach targets up to 300 kilometers (190 miles) away.
Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress pushed Biden to move quickly on ATACMS.
Republicans, however, are deeply divided over Ukraine, and a November victory by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over Biden's political heir Kamala Harris could dramatically change policy. United States.
Trump's aides have suggested that if he wins, he will use aid to pressure Kyiv into giving Russia permission to end the war.
In Tuesday's debate with Harris, Trump — who has expressed admiration for Putin in the past — specifically did not say he wanted to win over Ukraine, but wanted to end the war quickly.
