Blinken wraps up Ukraine-focused Europe trip in Poland with arms requests on the table

WARSAW —  U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry 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 bring the Ukrainian requests to their leaders.

President Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are to meet in the United States on Friday amid signs both governments are growing more receptive to allowing the Ukrainians to use their arms to hit targets farther inside Russia than previously approved.

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

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

Just last week, Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and challenged Kyiv’s long-range strike request, noting that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems including drones.

One of the key requests from Kyiv is to strike with U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. The Pentagon has noted they wouldn’t be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers — 186 miles — away, beyond the ATACMS reach, said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz.

In addition, the U.S. supply of ATACMS missiles, which can cost up to $1.5 million each depending on the variant, are “finite,” Dietz said. “We need to be judicious about where and when they are deployed.”

At Ramstein Air Base in Germany last week, Austin said the arguments the Ukrainians have used for long-range strikes are like the discussions the U.S. had with Ukraine over Abrams tanks. While those systems were ultimately provided, they are currently not being used.

“I don’t believe one specific capability will be decisive, and I stand by that comment,” Austin said.

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

“As of right now, the policy has not changed. I’ll just leave it there,” 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 they need now to deal with the current battlefield, including in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country.”

“I can tell you that as we go forward we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust as necessary … in order to defend against Russian aggression,” Blinken said.

He delivered a similar message in Kyiv a day earlier. In both cases, the language was similar to that which he used in May, shortly before the U.S. greenlighted Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons just inside Russian territory.

The diplomatic visit unfolded as Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army bears down on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and conducts aerial attacks on cities across the country using missiles, glide bombs and drones that claim many civilian casualties.

NATO member Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has been supportive of the Ukrainians, and Blinken heard requests for easing weapons-use restrictions from Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

Sikorski argued that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons against Russia in self-defense, because “Russia is committing war crimes by attacking civilian targets.”

“Missiles that hit these civilian targets are fired from bomber aircraft from over the territory of Russia. These bombers take off from airfields on Russia’s territory,” Sikorski said. “A victim of aggression has the right to defend itself.”

“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 repeatedly pounded ahead of an expected difficult winter in Ukraine.

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

Blinken said that he would bring the discussion with Zelensky about the missiles “back to Washington to brief the president” and that Biden and Starmer will “no doubt” talk about the issue when they meet in Washington.

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

That issue took on added urgency after Russia’s latest reported acquisition of ballistic missiles from Iran, but Western leaders have so far balked at Ukraine’s request, fearing that, if granted, it could escalate the war.

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

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

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

Lee writes for the Associated Press. AP writers Vanessa Gera in Warsaw and Tara Copp in Washington contributed to this report.