Blinken and Lammy arrive in Kyiv as Ukraine pushes for long-range strikes against Russia

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy arrived in Kyiv on a joint visit Wednesday, as Ukraine presses the West to allow it to use long-range missiles against Russia.

The top diplomats reached the Ukrainian capital by train hours after the U.S. presidential debate during which Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Trump sparred over the 2 1/2-year war in Ukraine.

Blinken traveled from London, where he accused Iran of providing Russia with Fath-360 short-range ballistic missiles, calling the move a “dramatic escalation” of the war.

For months, Ukraine has been requesting approval to use long-range weapons from the United States and Western allies to strike targets in Russia, and is expected to press harder given Russia’s latest reported weapons acquisition.

“If we are allowed to destroy military targets or weapons prepared by the enemy for attacks on Ukraine, it would certainly bring more safety for our civilians, our people, and our children,” Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said at a news conference in Kyiv on Tuesday. “We are working towards this and will continue to push for it every day.”

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

Wednesday’s visit comes ahead of British Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s upcoming trip to Washington, where he will meet President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday.

Russian airstrikes, mostly aimed at crippling Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, have intensified in recent weeks with nightly missile and drone attacks. ___

Follow AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine