U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Biden on Friday discussed allowing Ukraine to use long-range European-made cruise missiles to strike targets deep inside Russia , according to U.S. and Western officials.
Until now, Western countries supporting Ukraine have balked at allowing Kyiv to use long-range weapons, such as the British-French Storm Shadow, inside Russian territory for fear of escalating the conflict. Officials are concerned in particular that Russian President Vladimir Putin could retaliate by arming the Yemen-based Houthi rebels , who are engaged in a long-running campaign to attack ships in the Red Sea .
Putin has warned the U.S. and its allies that permitting Ukraine to use Western-made long-range missiles against Russia would mean the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s countries were “at war” with Russia.
Asked about that concern just prior to his White House meeting with Starmer, Biden said, “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin.”
Western leaders are rethinking the restrictions after Iran went ahead with sending Russia short-range ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.
Biden didn’t indicate whether he had decided, but said they would discuss the potential use of Western long-range missiles inside Russia during the closed-door conversation.
A decision to lift a ban on Kyiv using the Storm Shadow missile, which can hit targets 155 miles away, to fire into Russia would be a major win for Ukraine, which has been urging Western countries for months to loosen restrictions on long-range weapons. The move might give besieged Ukrainian forces some breathing room at a time when Russia is slowly advancing along the front line .
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned the West against allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons.
Kyiv has also asked for permission to use the long-range French Scalp missiles and U.S. Army Tactical Missile Systems , known as ATACMS. France is leaning toward lifting the ban on Scalp, but U.S. officials insist that Biden isn’t ready to sign off on Kyiv using ATACMS to fire into Russia because of the Pentagon’s concerns over its own stockpiles. However, he has approved a plan to expand the geographic area from which Ukraine can fire other U.S.-provided weapons across the border in response to Russian attacks.
While the final decision on Storm Shadow will be made by the U.K. government, British officials will ask for the Biden administration to weigh in because some components of the missiles are made in the U.S.
American spy agencies have warned recently that Putin would interpret as an escalation a policy change allowing Ukraine to conduct deep strikes into Russia with Western-supplied long-range missiles, U.S. officials said.
The Office of the Director of National Intelligence declined to comment.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby insisted that there is no change to the Biden administration’s stance on providing long-range strike capabilities for Ukraine to use inside Russia.
While Kirby said the administration takes Putin’s threat seriously, it is also similar to what the Russian leader has said previously. “We have our own calculus for what we decide to send to Ukraine and what not to,” Kirby said.
Starmer’s meeting with Biden was wide-ranging, including discussions about the conflict in Ukraine and what support Kyiv needs from allies.
“They reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine as it continues to defend against Russia’s aggression,’’ the White House said in a statement after the meeting.
France and Britain have already delivered the long-range missiles to Kyiv but they have been largely used to strike at Russian forces in occupied Ukraine.
Several European and U.S. officials have advised the White House to grant permission, and are hopeful Biden will formally do so later this month. Biden said this week that his administration was weighing the matter . Western officials say that the Biden administration wants to leave Ukraine in as strong a position as possible before this November’s U.S. presidential election and the potential election of Donald Trump , who has questioned support for Ukraine .
Any approval would, however, be a significant escalation and mark the crossing of yet another symbolic red line since the intensification of the Ukraine war in 2022.
Putin said that because Ukraine relies on Western assistance for targeting, allowing its military to use longer-range missiles to strike inside Russia would bring NATO members a step closer to the conflict.
“This will mean that NATO countries—the United States and European countries—are at war with Russia. And if this is the case, then, bearing in mind the change in the essence of the conflict, we will make appropriate decisions in response to the threats that will be posed to us,” the Russian leader said in comments published by the Kremlin late Thursday.
Asked about Putin’s comments, Starmer said Russia started the war and could end it anytime. Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said he wasn’t worried about Putin’s comments.
Drones and missiles from Russia struck the western Ukrainian city of Lviv last week. Photo: Serhii Korovayny for WSJ
The debate over the missiles comes as Ukraine finds itself desperate to fend off Russia’s slow but steady gains across much of the front line in Ukraine in recent months. The cruise missiles will give Kyiv the ability to strike at military equipment and logistics that sit deeper in Russian territory. The missiles are unlikely to alter the conflict much, given that Russia can simply move most of its war materiel farther away and in many cases has already done so. Some Western officials have argued that the missiles would force Russian aircraft to fly farther to reach Ukrainian targets, increasing wear and tear. Another factor hampering their effectiveness: Inventories of the missiles are limited.
British and U.S. officials, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken , were in Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, this week to meet with their Ukrainian counterparts and discuss how the extra weapons could be used inside Russia. That is expected to inform the U.S.’s decision. When asked whether the White House would grant approval, Biden on Tuesday said, “We are working that out right now.”
Russia also said on Friday that it had kicked out six British diplomats that it accused of spying, an allegation that Britain’s Foreign Office said was “completely baseless.” The timing of the expulsion was seen as an effort by the Kremlin to pressure Starmer before his meeting with Biden.
Britain has long taken a more forward-leaning approach to arming Ukraine. It was the first country to send Storm Shadows to Kyiv for the war effort. It was also the first nation to send a number of Western-made tanks. Both those moves created diplomatic space for other Western allies to follow suit.
Storm Shadow and its French equivalent Scalp are produced by a British-French-Italian company, MBDA. They use a mix of guidance systems that help them evade enemy jamming, maneuver and reach their targets. Ukraine has been launching the missile from Sukhoi jet fighters, the first time it has been carried by a non-Western aircraft.
Write to Lara Seligman at lara.seligman@wsj.com and Max Colchester at Max.Colchester@wsj.com
