In the White House in the USA, discussions are in full swing about what restrictions should apply to the weapons that have been donated to Ukraine, according to several government sources for Politico. According to British The Guardian's information, a decision has already been made in London that the Ukrainian military will be allowed to shoot ballistic Storm Shadow missiles at Russia.
Discussions are said to have taken place between the USA, the UK, and Ukraine over the past few weeks. The two Western countries' foreign ministers visited Kiev together on Wednesday and Ukraine once again appealed for greater freedom of action.
We are working swiftly to continue ensuring that Ukraine has what is required to effectively defend itself, replied USA's Minister Antony Blinken, as he, together with his British colleague David Lammy, announced new support packages to Ukraine.
Points to Iranian support
During the large-scale invasion war, Ukraine's allies have gradually relaxed the reservations expressed about how delivered weapons may be used.
Among other things, they have previously opened up for Ukraine to shoot at targets on the other side of the border for defensive purposes, for example, from the heavily bombarded Kharkiv region in the northeast, which has been heavily shelled from locations just a few miles away.
Earlier in the week, the USA highlighted information that Iran has continued to deliver weapons to Russia, now in the form of ballistic missiles, which Antony Blinken describes as a "dramatic escalation". Ukraine primarily wants to be able to use so-called Atacms missiles, which have a range of around 30 miles, to a greater extent. Such missiles have previously been fired against, among other things, the Crimean Peninsula.
USA's President Joe Biden will receive the UK's Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday.
Promises Russian response
Russia's President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly spoken about "red lines" for attacks on Russia. His spokesperson Dmitrij Peskov announces that the country will respond to any easing of weapons restrictions in a "suitable" manner.
Vjatjeslav Volodin, the regime-loyal speaker of the Russian State Duma, exclaims via social media that Western countries are "becoming parties to the war" and that Russia will be forced to take up even more powerful weapons.
