Kremlin warns there will be an ‘appropriate response’ if Ukraine uses western missiles to strike Russia, as US considers allowing long-range attacks

The Kremlin has warned it will launch an “appropriate response” if Ukraine uses Western missiles to attack Russian territory.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has increasingly called on the West to allow its forces to deploy long-range weapons, including U.S. ATACMS missiles, against Russian territory to combat the invasion of his country. now in the 30th month.

US President Joe Biden said last night that his administration ““We are working on that now,” he said when asked if he would lift restrictions on Kiev’s use of missiles such as ATACMS.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov warned that Vladimir Putin’s forces would demand an “appropriate response” if Ukraine used Western missiles, but added that “there is no reason to expect a response everywhere.”

“The SMO (Special Military Operation) is the answer to all these actions,” Peskov said, using the Kremlin’s preferred term for the conflict in Ukraine.

“Each of these decisions, taken by the collective West and then attributed to Ukraine, is further confirmation of the justification, necessity and inevitability of the SMO.”

This comes as both British Foreign Secretary David Lammy and US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken are visiting Kiev. The visit is rare and, unusually, announced in advance. It is a public signal of British-American support for Ukraine ahead of what is likely to be a harsh winter of Russian attacks.

U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken (L) and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrive at the Kyiv train station in Kyiv, September 11, 2024

An ATACMS missile is fired in White Sands, New Mexico, United States

Britain is increasingly supporting Ukraine militarily, supplying the army with Storm Shadow missiles with a range of 250 kilometres. However, the country is not allowed to fire these missiles on Russian territory.

Meanwhile, Washington is reluctant to supply Ukraine with long-range weapons to strike targets in Russia, fearing that such a move could escalate the bloodiest conflict on European soil in decades.

Sources revealed last week that the Biden administration was close to a deal to supply Ukraine with such weapons, but that Kiev will have to wait several months for the US to resolve technical issues before any weapons can actually be delivered.

Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal told Lammy today: “We hope that long-range equipment for attacks on the territory of our enemy will be reached and we will have it. We hope for your help and support in this matter.”

Shmyhal said yesterday that “if we are allowed to destroy military targets or weapons prepared by the enemy for attacks on Ukraine, this would certainly bring greater security to our citizens, our people and our children.”

“We are working on this and will continue to work towards this every day.”

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy attends a bilateral meeting with Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and other officials in Kiev, Ukraine, on September 11, 2024.

A Storm Shadow missile is displayed in the MBDA exhibition hall during the Farnborough International Airshow 2024 at the Farnborough International Exhibition and Conference Centre on 22 July 2024

Referring to the missiles from Iran, he added: ‘Russia’s use of weapons from its terrorist allies to attack Ukraine continues their genocidal war and terrorism on our soil. We must be able to respond to such terror in kind by destroying military targets on their soil to ensure greater security for our citizens.’

Lammy called the trip to Kiev “the first of its kind in a decade” at a joint press conference with his US counterpart on Tuesday, while Blinken said: “One of the purposes of the trip we’re taking together is to hear directly from Ukrainian leaders, including … President Zelensky, exactly what Ukrainians see their needs right now, what the objectives are, and what we can do to meet those needs.”

“All I can tell you is that we will listen carefully to our Ukrainian partners, we will both report back to the Prime Minister and President Biden in the coming days, and I expect that this will be something that they will discuss when they meet on Friday.”

Asked whether Ukraine would be given permission to use UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles in Russia, Mr Lammy said on Tuesday: ‘It is hugely important that we travel together to hear from our Ukrainian colleagues and President Zelensky what their assessment of the situation on the ground is and what their needs are on the ground.

“However, it would be completely wrong to comment on the details of operational issues in a forum like this, because the only person who could benefit from it is Putin, and we will do nothing to give him any advantage in his illegal invasion.”

Meanwhile, the UK announced sanctions against 10 ships operating as part of a “shadow fleet” trying to circumvent the embargo on Russian oil.

The ships, described as “major offenders”, are now banned from entering UK ports and will not be allowed onto the UK shipping register.

Mr Lammy said: ‘Russia has been forced to spend more than $8 billion (£6 billion) on assembling this shadow fleet. But with sanctioned tankers sitting around unable to load oil, we are determined to make Putin’s investment a costly mistake for the Kremlin.’