US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy have arrived in Kyiv on a joint visit as Ukraine continues to press for the right to use US and British long-range missiles against Russia.
The two men traveled together to the Ukrainian capital after talks in London.
They are due to meet President Volodymr Zelensky, who has repeatedly called on Washington to loosen the limits on US-supplied weapons.
Blinken said one of their goals was to “hear directly from the Ukrainian leadership” about their “objectives and what we can do to support those needs”.
The policy will come under further scrutiny when UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer meets Biden at the White House on Friday.
Ukraine’s Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, thanked Lammy for the UK’s military support for Ukraine throughout the war.
But he added: “We hope that long-range equipment for strikes on the territory of our enemy will be reached and we will have it and we hope for your help and support in this issue.”
At the moment, the US and UK have not permitted Ukraine to use long-range missiles against targets inside Russia for fear of escalation.
The UK has given Ukraine Storm Shadow missiles, which have a range of about 250km (155 miles). So far, they have been used only against Russian targets in occupied Ukrainian territory.
But Ukrainian leaders say they need the missiles to target air bases used by Russian warplanes to launch devastating glide bombs against Ukraine. These weapons are often launched from deep inside Russian territory.
The Kremlin said on Wednesday that Russia would respond “appropriately” if the US were to allow Ukrainian missile strikes on its territory.
Kyiv’s other allies have also been supplying some long-range weapons – with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws Nato countries into the war or provoke a nuclear conflict.
