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2 months ago
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JOE Biden has a top-secret plan to beat Vladimir Putin before leaving the White House, it has been revealed.
With only four months left before his presidential term expires, the clock is ticking for Biden to support Ukraine amid growing tensions over the use of long-range missiles for strikes in Russia.
Rex
EPA
A US ATACMS missile shown in action in the US
The US aims to help Ukraine improve its “strategic position” in the frontlineThe US President aims to improve Ukraine’s “strategic position” of Ukraine on the frontline, a senior US official told the WSJ.
“The goal is to improve Ukraine’s strategic position to the greatest extent possible between now and the end of the term,” they said.
Other US officials told the newspaper that the President’s aides have tempered expectations of what Ukraine can achieve before the end of Biden’s term in January.
But they are not pushing for peace talks or “trying to dictate” battlefield plans, the officials added.
The White House is currently discussing how to help Kyiv over the next few months regardless of the final election result.
A move that is being considered is potentially lifting some restrictions on the use of Western-supplied long-range missiles to hit key military targets in Russia.
The possibility was raised by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Kyiv earlier this week.
Speaking from Kyiv alongside UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy he said the US had “from day one” been willing to shift its policy” and would “continue to do this”.
It comes as Vlad has repeatedly vowed World War Three if Ukraine uses western missiles to strike Russia.
The Russian leader warned granting permission for Kyiv to use British and French missiles deep within Russian territory would mean war.
He said: “This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict… It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.”
And last night the Kremlin accused six British diplomats of espionage and expelled them.
In response, Sir Keir Starmer said: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away.
“Ukraine has the right to self-defence, and obviously we’ve been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine’s right to self-defence, providing training capabilities.
“But we don’t seek any conflict with Russia, that’s not our intention in the slightest. But they started this conflict, and Ukraine’s got a right to self-defence.”
At the moment Ukraine has only been sanctioned to deploy missiles in Russian-occupied regions of Ukraine, such as Crimea and the Donbas amid fears of escalation.
Ukrainian President Zelensky has repeatedly called for his counterparts in the US and UK to grant permission to shoot long-range rockets over enemy lines.
Meanwhile, the PM has today arrived in Washington DC for a meeting with Biden at the White House to discuss the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.
Earlier this week, Moscow threatened “an appropriate response” if the US allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range ATACMS missiles.
Putin’s mouthpiece Dmitry Peskov told reporters in a daily briefing that it looked like Washington had already decided to allow Ukraine to use the weapons for long-range strikes inside Russia.
Military expert Keir Giles told The Sun the Kremlin is likely to carry out strategic attacks on Europe if permission is granted.
If Putin’s government is “surprised or upset”, he warned, it could ramp up already “ongoing campaigns of sabotage and reconnaissance across Europe and in the UK”.
And he said it’s actually the countries bordering Russia – most at risk as a result of escalation – who insist that the relaxing of restrictions is crucial for Ukraine to win.
AP
Reuters
English (US)