Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London on Thursday and again asked for permission to use British-provided missiles for long-range strikes inside Russian territory but was denied.
A spokesperson for Starmer said the UK has not lifted the restrictions on Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 155 miles, and added that “no war has ever been won by a single weapon, and there’s no change in the government’s policy on the use of long-range missiles.”
According to Zelensky’s office, the Ukrainian leader emphasized to Starmer the “need to obtain permission to strike deep into the territory of Russia.”
Last month, the US and the UK appeared poised to support long-range Ukrainian strikes inside Russia but backed down after Russian President Vladimir Putin issued serious warnings.
Putin said taking the step would put NATO in a direct war with Russia and later ordered changes to Russia’s nuclear doctrine that lower the threshold for the use of nuclear weapons. One of the changes was made to consider an attack on Russia by a non-nuclear state that’s supported by a nuclear-armed power would be treated as a joint attack.
Zelensky also met with NATO Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Thursday, who also downplayed the idea of supporting long-range strikes. “Let’s not focus on one system, one weapon system at all. It will not be one weapon system which will make the change,” said Rutte, who was appointed as the head of NATO on October 1, replacing Jens Stoltenberg.
Rutte did express some support for NATO allowing the long-range strikes, insisting it was “legal,” but he said it was up to individual countries. “That is up to the allies, the individual allies, to decide how weapons they deliver into Ukraine can be used,” he said.
