British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, who will attend the White House meeting later Friday with British National Security Adviser Tim Barrow and Ambassador to Washington Karen Pierce, said Wednesday during a visit to Kiev with Blinken that “the escalator here is Putin. Putin escalated the escalation by shipping missiles from Iran.”
Iranian missiles, armed with 150kg warheads, pose a much greater threat to Ukraine than the Shahed drones that Iran previously sold to Russia. Although less accurate than cruise missiles, Iranian missiles approach their targets at speeds of up to 3,200km/h and are difficult to shoot down.
Blinken, who visited Kiev on Wednesday, confirmed that Starmer and Biden would “undoubtedly” discuss the issue during their meeting at the White House on Friday, and stressed that escalation risk was not “the only factor” in making the decision.
Matthew Saville, director of military services at RUSI, a London-based defense think tank, said the increased allied support for long-range missiles was a “test of support and commitment” for Ukraine. “Will the West give in to Russian rhetoric?”
Savill noted that the reluctance to make such a commitment so far has focused on “the risk of nuclear escalation and the backlash against international partners”, but added: “At the same time, Russia has been talking for a year as if it were effectively at war with the US and UK”.
He warned that the Storm Shadow missile would have “limited” tactical impact inside Russia, but said its use would open up the use of US-supplied ATACMS, raising questions about where to deploy Russian air defenses and potentially improving the penetration capabilities of Ukrainian drones.
