Blinken’s trip to Kyiv may bring a message Ukraine’s been hoping to hear

In what could lead to a major United States policy change, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged on Tuesday, Sept. 10, that he’ll be discussing the possibility of Kyiv using long-range weapons against Russia during his trip to Ukraine on Wednesday, Sept. 11. The revelation came during a joint press conference with Blinken and United Kingdom Foreign Secretary David Lammy.

A reporter asked whether the U.S. restriction on long-range weapons it supplied to Ukraine would be lifted for Kyiv to strike deep within Russian territory.

“So, I can tell you is we’ll be listening intently to our Ukrainian partners,” Blinken said. “We’ll be reporting back to the prime minister to President Biden in the coming days and I fully anticipate this is something they’ll take up when they meet Friday.”

While Blinken provided limited details, House Foreign Affairs Chairman Michael McCaul did not take the same approach. He said that Blinken is traveling to Kyiv to tell Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy he can begin striking deep within Russia with Storm Shadows and ATACMS, which are ground-launched missiles.

Up to this point, the United States barred Ukraine from using the long-range missiles from being fired deep within Russian territory. However, the reported U.S. accusations that Iran supplied Russia with short-range ballistic missiles may have reportedly led to the U.S. possibly lifting the restrictions.

President Joe Biden had previously given the all-clear for Ukraine to fire U.S.-supplied weapons into Russian territory in self-defense and with limited range around the border. However, Biden stopped short of allowing them to use the weapons any further over fears it could escalate the conflict.