Blinken wraps up EU trip to Ukraine in Poland with arms demands on the table

WARSAW —

U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken wrapped up a three-nation European tour in Poland on Thursday, focusing on Ukraine, after hearing repeated calls from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weapons for long-range strikes inside Russia.

Blinken traveled to Warsaw after spending a day in kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy, during which they pledged to convey Ukrainian demands to their leaders.

President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are scheduled to meet in the United States on Friday, as both governments appear increasingly receptive to the idea of ​​allowing the Ukrainians to use their weapons to strike targets deeper inside Russia than previously approved.

“As Russia’s actions have changed, as the battlefield has changed, we have adapted,” Blinken said at a news conference in Warsaw.

Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-supplied missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense, but has severely limited the distance they can be fired.

Last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and challenged kyiv’s request for a long-range strike, noting that Ukraine has already been able to strike Russia with its own domestically produced systems, including drones.

One of kyiv’s main demands is to strike with U.S.-made Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. The Pentagon has noted that these systems would not be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces, namely Russian long-range glide bombs, which are fired from more than 300 kilometers away, beyond the range of ATACMS, Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz said.

Additionally, U.S. stocks of ATACMS missiles, which can cost up to $1.5 million each depending on the variant, are “limited,” Dietz said. “We have to be judicious about where and when we deploy them.”

Last week, at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, Austin said the arguments the Ukrainians were making to justify long-range strikes were similar to the discussions the United States had with Ukraine over Abrams tanks. While those systems were eventually delivered, they are not currently in use.

“I don’t believe any specific capability is decisive, and I stand by that comment,” Austin said.

At the Pentagon on Thursday, Defense spokesman Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would not say whether Austin’s views had changed since last week.

“As of now, the policy has not changed. I’ll leave it at that,” Ryder said.

In Warsaw, Blinken said: “One of the purposes of my visit to Kyiv yesterday was to hear from our Ukrainian partners what they believe is needed now to address the current battlefield, particularly in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country.”

“I can tell you that as we move forward, we will do exactly what we have done before, which is we will adapt as necessary … to defend against Russian aggression,” Blinken said.

He had delivered a similar message in kyiv the day before. In both cases, the language used was similar to that used in May, shortly before the United States gave the green light for Ukraine to use American weapons inside Russian territory.

The diplomatic visit came as the larger and better-equipped Russian military has been moving toward Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, carrying out airstrikes on cities across the country using missiles, glide bombs and drones that have caused widespread civilian casualties.

Poland, a NATO member that shares a border with Ukraine, has supported the Ukrainians, and Blinken has heard calls from Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski for easing restrictions on weapons use.

Sikorski argued that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons against Russia to defend itself because “Russia is committing war crimes by attacking civilian targets.”

“The missiles that strike these civilian targets are fired from bombers over Russian territory. These bombers take off from airfields located on Russian territory,” Sikorski said. “A victim of aggression has the right to defend himself.”

“So I believe that Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons to prevent war crimes,” Sikorski added.

Blinken also met in Warsaw with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who share Sikorski’s position on the issue.

On Wednesday, Blinken and Lammy announced that the United States and Britain had pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during their visit to Kyiv. Blinken announced more than $700 million in humanitarian aid, while Lammy confirmed that his country would provide $782 million in new assistance and loan guarantees.

Much of the effort was aimed at bolstering the energy grid that Russia has regularly strained in preparation for a harsh winter in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s wish list is long, and non-military aid is certainly on it, but Ukrainian officials have made clear that their most important request is easing restrictions on where Western weapons can be used. Air raid sirens sounded repeatedly during the visit, causing delays in the diplomats’ schedules and forcing them to cancel a wreath-laying ceremony.

Blinken said he would bring the missile discussion with Zelensky “back to Washington to brief the president” and that Biden and Starmer would “undoubtedly” talk about the issue when they meet in Washington.

Relations between Ukraine and its Western partners have been increasingly strained by kyiv’s repeated calls for the West to allow it to use long-range weapons from the United States and other allies to strike targets deeper inside Russia.

The issue has taken on added urgency after Russia’s recent acquisition of ballistic missiles from Iran, but Western leaders have so far refused Ukraine’s request, fearing that if accepted it could escalate the war.

Zelensky said he has a plan for victory that includes several elements, including goals Ukraine hopes to achieve on the battlefield as well as diplomatic and economic objectives.

In late August, he described the Ukrainian incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as part of that plan, saying it had eliminated the Russian threat from Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions. He said he hoped to present the plan to Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump in September, as one of them will become the next president.

“Let’s count on at least strong decisions,” Zelensky said Wednesday. “For us, this is very important.”

Lee wrote for The Associated Press. AP journalists Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.