MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:
President Biden is expected to host British Prime Minister Keir Starmer at the White House. Russia's war on Ukraine will top their agenda. There's speculation that Biden may use the occasion to announce he is dropping the U.S. ban on Ukraine using long-range weapons provided by Washington to strike targets deep inside Russia. We're going to hear more about this from Teri Schultz, who covers NATO, where this issue has long divided the alliance. Good morning, Teri.
TERI SCHULTZ, BYLINE: Good morning, Michel.
MARTIN: Could you just remind us of what the issue is here, especially why the Biden administration has limited Ukraine's use of long-range weapons and why things might be changing?
SCHULTZ: That's right. Well, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wants his forces to be able to destroy Russian capabilities, such as these missiles and drones we see doing so much damage, before they ever get off the ground headed toward Ukraine. So he's been lobbying hard and talking in public about this to get permission from the U.S. to strike back with long-range missiles that he already has, weapons coming from the U.S., but also Britain and France. So what appears to have been changed in the last several days is that Secretary of State Antony Blinken said there's evidence Iran is providing Russia with ballistic missiles. He was in Kyiv meeting with Zelenskyy and top Ukrainian officials when he said this.
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ANTONY BLINKEN: Now Putin's further empowering his aggression with the acquisition of Iranian ballistic missiles. So we're working with urgency to continue to ensure that Ukraine has what it needs to effectively defend itself.
SCHULTZ: So Western countries' fears that they would be seen as escalating the conflict by letting Ukraine have these deeper strike capabilities has now been superseded by what Blinken described as Moscow's own escalatory action in teaming up with Tehran to get these ballistic missiles. Of course, that hasn't stopped Putin from continuing to threaten the West, including just yesterday, that he would view a change in the position on these weapons as direct involvement in the war.
MARTIN: Just to be clear about this for people who aren't following this as closely, most other countries providing weapons to Ukraine have not included any restrictions on where and how those supplies can be used. So why do other governments see this so differently than the U.S. has?
SCHULTZ: Yeah, that's true. Almost all the other allies who've given Ukraine weapons have said use them as you wish. And that's caused a lot of tension inside NATO. They say Ukraine can use their weapons however they need to do so, and that they have the right under international law to defend their territory, Ukraine. And so they've been heavily pressuring the U.S. to say the same thing, and one of the reasons is because most of those countries giving permission don't have the weapons that the U.S. and its closest allies, such as Britain and France, have sent to Ukraine and which Ukraine says it needs.
MARTIN: Does this fit into a pattern? Has the U.S. government hesitated to do something and then done it anyway eventually?
SCHULTZ: Virtually every time the Ukrainians have asked for a major capability upgrade, this is what happens. And so President Zelenskyy is going to be hoping that, as frustrating as it is, this does fit into that pattern because, as you may remember, he was told he'll never get Western tanks and then the Pentagon sent him Abrams. He was told he wouldn't get long-range missile systems. Finally, he got American ATACMS. And then, of course, he finally got his long-delayed request for Western fighter jets when allies, with U.S. permission, sent him F-16s. So on the Ukrainian side, there's always this mix of frustration and worry over the delay, and then, of course, gratitude when the weapons finally arrive. So President Zelenskyy will definitely be hoping this fits into that pattern and that there are decisions made today that follow it.
MARTIN: Teri Schultz covers NATO for NPR. Teri, thank you.
SCHULTZ: Pleasure.
(SOUNDBITE OF INTALEKT'S "HOPE") Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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