Russia-Ukraine War: Blinken, Lammy Meet President Zelenskiy

• As Ukraine pushes for long-range weapons against Russia

The United States (US) Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, arrived in Kyiv on Wednesday for talks with Ukrainian leaders on latest developments in the ongoing conflict with Russia

The visit comes on the heels of Ukraine’s strong push for its partners to speed up assistance and allow Kyiv deploy long-range weapons deep inside Russian territory.

Blinken and Lammy are expected to meet President Volodymyr Zelenskiy with talks centred on the approval for Ukraine to use long-range weapons against their Russian aggressors.

Ahead of the trip, both leaders had raised concerns over Russia receiving ballistic missiles from Iran.

“Iran’s provision of ballistic missiles in direct support of Russia’s war against Ukraine is a threat to European and global security,” Blinken said.

This is as the State Department Spokesperson, Matthew Miller, said “the U.S. and UK stand united with Ukraine as they defend their sovereignty and freedom.”

In related development, the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, has officially asked the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, to facilitate the delivery of long-range missiles to “strike on (the) territory of our enemy,” the PA news agency reported.

Shmyhal said: “We hope that long-range equipment for strikes on the territory of our enemy will be reached and we will have it. We hope for your help and support in this issue.”

Similarly, the new Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Andrii Sybiha also touched on the issue of targets in Russia in a conversation with the NATO Secretary-General, Jens Stoltenberg.

“I once again underscored the vital need for Ukraine to be able to use available weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia without restrictions. I thanked Secretary General for his personal support on this and other matters”, Sybiha said.

However, in a swift reaction, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister, Sergei Ryabkov, said Moscow will destroy any new deliveries of long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine by the United States, Reuters reported citing the state TASS news agency. – With The Guardian report