The White House is expected to consider whether to give its permission for Ukraine to use Western-made weapons in attacks against targets deep inside Russian territory.
The issue was a key topic Friday as British Prime Minister Keir Starmer visited President Biden at the White House. Britain has signaled it wants to let Ukraine used its Storm Shadow long-range missiles to strike Russian targets. But it wants the U.S. to sign off on that.
No decision was immediately announced after Friday's meeting.
Those deliberations come as Russia intensifies its assault on eastern Ukraine, cutting off the water supply to one city and destroying a strategic highway overpass. Russian forces have also launched a counterattack against Ukrainian troops who have seized about 500 square miles of Russian territory in the Kursk region. Ukrainian officials have encouraged residents of the city of Pokrovsk to leave the region while it's still relatively safe to do so.
Ukraine says using the new weapons the way it wants to could change the war dramatically in its favor. Ukraine says it has hundreds of targets that it would go after including Russian logistical hubs and munitions stores.
While it was possible that President Biden would condone Ukraine's use of Storm Shadow missiles, it was less likely that the U.S. would approve of using American-made ATACMS missiles.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Ukraine this week and said he would bring Ukraine's points back to the White House for consideration.
It may not be openly announced if the U.S. position on long-range weapons for Ukraine were to change.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said Ukraine having access to the new Western weapons would mean that "NATO countries, the United States and European countries are fighting against Russia. If this is so, then bearing in mind the change in the very essence of this conflict, we will make appropriate decisions based on the threats that will be created for us."
