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US President Joe Biden left open the possibility that the US would lift restrictions on the use of long-range US missiles by Ukraine against Russia, hours before Anthony Blinken's visit to Kiev.
Blinken and his British counterpart David Lammy will travel together to Kiev on Wednesday (11/9), where they will meet President Volodymyr Zelensky.
One of the goals of their visit, as the US foreign policy chief said, is to "hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership" about "its goals and what we can do to support those needs."
Biden's statement came hours after US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken accused Iran of supplying Russia with short-range ballistic missiles.
In fact, the US, UK, France and Germany have already imposed new sanctions on Iran for supplying Russia with ballistic missiles for use in Ukraine.
If the administration eventually moves, it will meet repeated demands from Ukraine to ease restrictions on US-supplied weapons, which officials have said have left them fighting a full-scale invasion by Russia with their hands tied.
Russia has yet to comment, but President Vladimir Putin has previously said such a move could lead to "very serious problems".
Since Russia launched its invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the US has been reluctant to procure or authorize the use of weapons that could strike targets deep inside Russia, for fear of escalating the conflict.
However, they have eased some of the restrictions on the use of such missiles, allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles to hit areas along the Russian border from which troops fire.
Kiev's other allies have also supplied some long-range weapons - with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern that such attacks could trigger retaliation that would draw NATO countries into the war or to cause a nuclear conflict.
In recent months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has criticized the pace of arms shipments and asked for permission to strike targets deep inside Russia with missiles supplied by the West - a move the US has so far resisted.
For his part, Russian leader Putin also warned earlier this year that Ukraine's attacks on Russia by Western missiles risked triggering a wider war.
"Continued escalation could lead to serious consequences," he said in May. "Do they want a global conflict?"
He then added that responsibility for any attack inside Russian territory would fall on Western arms suppliers, even if Ukrainian forces carried out the attacks.
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