Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Kyiv on Wednesday, where he and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
It comes one day after the U.S. and the U.K. formally accused Iran of providing Russia with missiles to aid its war effort and amid mounting pressure for the Biden administration to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons.
Addressing reporters at a joint press conference in Ukraine’s capital city on Wednesday, Blinken pledged an enduring support from the U.S. and its allies while announcing a new of funding, amounting to more than $700 million, to help the war-torn country repair its energy and electric grid, supply “vital services” like water, food and shelter and remove landmines that Russia has left in the area.
“The bottom line is this: we want Ukraine to win, and we're fully committed to keep marshaling the support that it needs for its brave defenders and citizens to do just that. Now, support for Ukraine will endure because it doesn’t depend on any one country, any one party, any one election.”
Ukraine has urged the U.S. and other allies to allow the country to use the long-range weapons they supply inside Russian territory as the now more than two and a half year-old war drags on.
Blinken told reporters that the subject was discussed in his meetings in Kyiv on Wednesday, adding he would take the conversations back to Washington to brief the president.
When asked about such a possibility while the White House on Tuesday, President Joe Biden responded, “We’re working that out right now”.
In a move that at the time mark a notable shift for the White House, which had long said it does not “encourage” or “enable” attacks by Ukraine on Russian soil using U.S.-provided weapons, the Biden administration in May announced it was signing off on Ukraine using American weapons to hit targets in a limited area of Russian territory, just across the two countries’ borders.
At the time, Biden appeared to draw a distinction between that and approving their use for attacks further into the country.
The U.S. and Western leaders have been cautious about sparking a wider war and Russian President Vladimir Putin has threatened that direct involvement from the West could lead to nuclear conflict.
Asked about the potential for escalation on Wednesday, Blinken noted it is “one of the factors that we always consider” while emphasizing it is Russia that has ramped up the heat, including specifically by accepting weapons from Iran
“We've seen Russia now pursue and indeed escalate its attacks inside Ukraine on civilians, on energy infrastructure, as well as on the Ukrainian military that is defending its country,” Blinken said. “And we've now seen this action of Russia acquiring ballistic missiles from Iran, which will further empower their aggression in Ukraine.”
“So if anyone is taking escalatory action, it would appear to be Mr. Putin and Russia,” he added.
Blinken’s trip to the region also comes about a month after Ukraine launched an incursion into the Kursk region in Russia. The White House at the time said it was working to get a better understanding of the strategy and goals around Ukraine’s surprise charge before characterizing it.
Biden is scheduled to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House on Friday where Ukraine is expected to be a significant topic of discussion.
“The two of them will meet in just a few days time in Washington to discuss how our countries will continue to support Ukraine,” Blinken said on Wednesday. “And we’ll also use what we learned to further rally support among many countries that are behind Ukraine.”