KIEV: The United States and Britain on Wednesday pledged nearly $1.5 billion in assistance to Ukraine and promised to quickly review requests to ease arms restrictions on deeper attacks in Russia.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy paid a rare joint visit to Kyiv to show their solidarity amid growing concerns.
Russia's reported acquisition of new Iranian short-range missiles threatens to increase Moscow's firepower, and the US elections in less than two months could dramatically change the stance of Ukraine's main backer.
Blinken, who took a nine-hour train ride to Kyiv with Lammy, said the United States would offer Ukraine $717 million in new economic aid.
About half of this will consist of US support for the expansion of Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, which was hit hard by Russia at the beginning of the winter.
Blinken accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of pulling out “his winter manual” to “use the cold as a weapon against the Ukrainian people.”
“Our support will not wane, our unity will not break,” Blinken said at a joint press conference in Kyiv.
“Putin will not survive the coalition of countries committed to Ukraine's success, and he will certainly not survive the Ukrainian people.”
Lammy reiterated the commitment of his two-month-old Labour government to provide £600 billion ($782 million) in economic aid to Ukraine.
He said Britain, which has consistently pushed for a relaxation of restrictions on Ukraine's use of weapons, would supply Ukraine with hundreds of new anti-aircraft missiles this year.
A month after Kyiv launched a surprise counteroffensive in Russia's Kursk region, Russia advanced on the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region.
In recent months, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has stepped up his calls on the West to supply him with weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.
“It is important to lift all restrictions on the use of American and British weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga said at the joint conference with his counterparts who had previously met with Zelensky.
Blinken said the United States would review the requests “with urgency” and discuss them in Washington on Friday when President Joe Biden meets with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
When asked in Washington on Tuesday whether he would allow Ukraine to use longer-range weapons to attack Russian targets, Biden said: “We are working that out.”
While Biden strongly supports Ukraine, he has previously made it clear that he wants to avoid a direct conflict between the United States and Russia, the world's two leading nuclear powers.
When asked how Moscow would respond to the extended range of its missiles, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that the response would be “appropriate,” without giving specific details.
He said the authorization of Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory was “further proof” of why Moscow launched its offensive, which he said was a “response” to Western support for Ukraine.
The United States believes Russia could begin firing Iranian-designed short-range missiles at Ukraine within weeks.
Financially weak Iran continued to sell the missiles despite repeated warnings from Western powers, which announced new sanctions against the clerical-ruled state on Tuesday.
The Iranian deliveries have raised fears that Moscow could gain the opportunity to use its long-range missiles against relatively unspoiled areas in western Ukraine.
Earlier this year, the United States gave Ukraine its consent to use Western weapons against Russian forces in the event of a direct conflict across the border.
According to British media reports, Biden is in the process of resolving objections to the launch of Ukrainian Storm Shadow long-range missiles at Russia.
One of Ukraine's key demands is to ease restrictions on US-supplied Army tactical missile systems (ATACMS), which can hit targets up to 300 kilometers away.
Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress urged Biden to take immediate action on ATACMS.
However, Republicans are deeply divided on the Ukraine issue, and a victory by Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump over Biden's political heir Kamala Harris in November could dramatically change US politics.
Trump's advisers have indicated that if he wins, he will use the aid to force Kiev to make territorial concessions to Russia and thus end the war.
Notably, during a debate with Harris on Tuesday, Trump – who has expressed admiration for Putin in the past – did not say he wanted Ukraine to win, only that he wanted to end the war quickly.
