Amidst his visit to the White House on Friday, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer had a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden, during which Biden shoveled Putin’s intimidation tactics aside. According to Biden, Ukraine’s employment of Western-made Storm Shadow missiles to attack Russian targets wouldn’t necessarily signify that Nato is waging war against Moscow.
Biden expressed his lack of concern about Vladimir Putin during a foreign policy summit on Friday. In the Blue Room of the White House, Biden and Starmer, along with their primary foreign policy experts, were gathered. As the conference began, Sky News’ James Matthews jumped in with an unanticipated question about Putin’s threat of war, to which Biden responded with a stern request for silence.
Biden was quick to brush off Russian threats during his discussion with Keir Starmer, British Prime Minister. Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, David Lammy, the UK Foreign Secretary, Tim Barrow – the National Security Adviser, and Sue Gray – Starmer’s Chief of Staff, were also present at the Blue Room discussions.
Tension escalated between London and Kremlin when UK signalled that the US could possibly permit Ukraine to deploy Storm Shadow missiles against Russia. Starmer had flown from London on Thursday to attend this meeting. Post the summit, Starmer clarified that the gathering was not exclusively about Storm Shadow. However, Biden hinted that this subject was part of discussions between the leaders and their respective teams.
Two key presidential candidates – Kamala Harris and Donald Trump were absent during this meeting as they were preoccupied with their respective political campaigns.
Mr Starmer disclosed that he had no interactions with Ms Harris, despite the Prime Minister having a short conversation with Mr Trump after the former President endured an assassination attempt during the summer months. The Storm Shadow missiles, which were manufactured by a continental European firm and are part of UK’s arsenal, can hit targets at a distance of at least 305km. These are wanted by Ukraine to target airstrips, missile locations, and other military sites in Russia.
Previously, the Russian government stated it had withdrawn the credentials of six UK diplomats based in Moscow, accusing them of spying. Moscow’s internal security service, the FSB, announced on Friday that it took this step based on documents suggesting that the foreign office was involved in escalating the political and military unrest in Ukraine.
However, the foreign office retorted that this decision was taken last month, as part of an ongoing diplomatic spat. Insider information suggests that the UK diplomats left Russia a few weeks prior and are already being replaced. A spokesperson from the foreign office lashed out against the FSB’s accusations, calling them completely unfounded. They also emphasised that the UK remains unrepentant in safeguarding her national interests.
Earlier in May, the UK government dismissed the Russian defence attache, labelling him an undisclosed intelligence agent, while also stripping several Russian-owned UK buildings of their diplomatic statuses.
A meeting between Biden and Starmer took place at the UK’s behest, according to the White House. Post the brief leaders’ interaction, no media briefing was arranged. However, the possibility of Storm Shadow being deployed in Ukraine has been a topic of discussion for a few days now, a situation that led Mr Putin to caution that NATO might be seen as at war with Russia if Ukraine receives such Western-made long-range missiles.
Mr Starmer, however, conveyed to the media upon his arrival in Washington, that Russia instigated and continues to execute illegal invasions of Ukraine and holds the power to halt the conflict immediately. He elaborated that Ukraine possesses the right to self-defence. It is anticipated that Mr Putin will respond with threats to any new support for Kyiv.
Volodymyr Zelenskiy, the Ukrainian President, has been advocating for authorisation to utilise these missiles for some time now, furthering his dialogue in recent talks with Mr Lammy and Mr Blinken.
According to reports from the UK, both London and Washington have agreed in secret to permit Ukraine to utilise long-range missiles, though no public announcement has been made yet. Western officials indicate that this move should form part of a more comprehensive strategy aimed at ending the all-out battle.
Ukrainian President Zelenskiy, on Friday, made an earnest appeal to the United States and the United Kingdom to hasten this process, with the intention of complicating the combat scenario for Russia.
He opined that anyone examining Russia’s strategic locations for strikes, training hubs, reserve depos, military establishments, and logistic routes will comprehend Ukraine’s requirement for long-range capabilities which he expressed in a detailed statement.
There is palpable disappointment among Ukrainian authorities regarding their inability to counterstrike Russia with their Western-made weaponry, given that until now, such use has not been sanctioned by western countries.
In terms of manufacturing, The Storm Shadow missile is produced by a firm that is governed by British, French and Italian stakeholders, with some components sourced from the US. This gives all four countries the power to veto its usage. Ukraine’s own capabilities for long-range missiles are somewhat limited.
The Russian embassy in London criticised the UK’s support for Ukraine, stating that it’s a waste of money as the weaponries donated are likely to suffer damage. It continued to add that the policy of backing Kyiv will not be beneficial to average Britons, who are bracing for a tough winter.