US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy say they will visit Ukraine on Wednesday for talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Blinken and Lammy revealed plans to visit Kyiv at a joint news conference in Britain on Tuesday.
They are expected to discuss the lifting of restrictions on the use of long-range weapons provided by the United States and European countries.
Blinken said one of the purposes of the trip is to hear directly from Zelenskyy about Ukraine’s needs and discuss what can be done to support them.
Zelenskyy has been asking Western allies to allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons supplied by them in attacks on Russian territory.
Blinken said he fully expects the issue to also be discussed during talks between US President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in Washington on Friday.
He also noted that shipments of ballistic missiles from Iran to Russia have been confirmed.
The secretary of state said they give the Russians additional capability and flexibility and will likely be used within weeks in Ukraine.
Lammy noted that the supply of ballistic missiles from Iran “is definitely a significant escalation.”
The US and British governments announced fresh sanctions on individuals and entities based in Iran and Russia involved in the missile supply.
France and Germany also announced the cancellation of flights between their countries and Iran.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani released a statement on Tuesday rejecting and strongly condemning the allegations of providing ballistic missiles to Russia.
Kanaani said the move by Britain, France and Germany “is the continuation of the hostile policy of the West” against the people of Iran. He said it will provoke a “corresponding and proportionate action” from Tehran.
