British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is in Washington D.C. today for Ukraine War talks with U.S. President Joe Biden as Moscow threatens dire repercussions for mooted long-range weapon strikes into the Russian hinterland.
Long range cruise missile strikes using Western arms but in Ukrainian hands are on the table today in Washington D.C. today, following a diplomatic mission to Kyiv earlier this week. British politicians speak in only slightly veiled terms about untying Ukraine’s hands to use the advanced missiles it already has further afield, but top Russian figures including Vladimir Putin say striking deep inside Russia would mean war between Moscow and the West.
Talks between Sir Keir Starmer, two months in office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, and outgoing U.S. President Joe Biden are to take place today but ahead of that meeting Starmer and his foreign envoy David Lammy have spoken out on the importance they see in getting these advanced weapons signed off for Ukraine.
British broadsheet The Daily Telegraph notes the remarks by the two men, placing them in the context of the missile discussion although neither namechecked the weapons. Lammy is reported to have told the paper: “… it is crystal clear that Russia is escalating … we’re here to strategise, to understand how we can put Ukrainians in a position to win and what is needed.”
Starmer is reported to have said while the United Kingdom sought no conflict with Russia, stating “they started this conflict, and Ukraine’s got a right to self-defence”, the Prime Minister alluded to the missile question, saying of his coming talks with the President: “That is why we have been providing training and capability. And, you know, there are obviously further discussions to be had about the nature of that capability”.
Russian state media has promoted President Vladimir Putin’s remarks on the possibility of British and American-supplied weapons striking deep into Russia, presumably to take out airbases where strikes against Ukraine are launched, presently well out of Kyiv’s reach. The President of the Russian Federation said such strikes would “change the very nature of the conflict” and would “mean that NATO countries, the U.S., European countries, are at war with Russia.”
Putin’s spokesman followed up on Friday, asserting that the message was “extremely clear, unambiguous and admits of no dual interpretations”, and had been “no doubt” received by its intended audience, the leadership of NATO states.
While Putin’s talk is grave, others were more lurid in their imagery of warning and threat. Long-time Putin factotum Dmitry Medvedev, who these days wears the hat of Deputy Chairman of the Russian Security Council, made specific reference to the United Kingdom, a country with which he has long held a particular animosity for, frequently calling it Russia’s traditional enemy.
“The island called Britain is likely to sink in the next few years. Our hypersonic missiles will help if necessary”, he said, referring to Russia’s new generation of extremely fast — and potentially nuclear-tipped — missiles.