Ukraine Russia war: Biden ‘working on’ lifting long range weapons ban

The international world order is under threat in a way not seen since the Cold War, the heads of MI6 and the CIA have warned.

In the first joint op-ed penned by the leaders of the British and American intelligence services in their shared 77-year history, the MI6 chief Sir Richard Moore and CIA director William Burns warned that both countries now “face an unprecedented array of threats”.

Writing in the Financial Times, the intelligence leaders reflected on their decades of cooperation over the course of two world wars and in their fight against terrorism, warning: “The challenges of the past are being accelerated in the present, and compounded by technological change.”

Read the full report by Andy Gregory below:

Antony Blinken is set to arrive in Ukraine to meet senior government officials at what he said was a critical moment for supporting the country in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

The top US diplomat, who is traveling to Ukraine alongside British foreign secretary David Lammy, said he will use his visit to hear directly from Volodymyr Zelensky and others what Kyiv’s current goals in the war are and what Washington can do to help it achieve them.

“I think it’s a critical moment for Ukraine in the midst of what is an intense fall fighting season with Russia continuing to escalate its aggression,” Mr Blinken said in London at a news conference with Lammy.

Mr Blinken declined to say whether Washington will allow Ukraine to use long-range weapons deep inside Russia but said multiple factors went into the consideration of this decision rather than just looking at it as a weapons system.

“It’s not just the system itself that counts. You have to ask: Can the Ukrainians effectively use it, and sometimes that requires significant training, which we’ve done. Do they have the ability to maintain it?,” he said.

Donald Trump repeatedly refused to make clear whether he wants Ukraine to win the war against Russia.

Facing vice president Kamala Harris in an ABC News debate last night, the Republican candidate was asked if he wanted Ukraine to win the war. “I want the war to stop; I want to save lives,” he said, adding that he has “good” relationships with both Volodymyr Zelensky and Vladimir Putin.

On being asked if he thought Ukraine’s victory against Russia in the war was in the US’s best interest, Mr Trump said: “Yes, I think it’s in the US’ best interest to get this war finished and just get it done.”

Ms Harris at one point told Mr Trump that Mr Putin would “eat you for lunch”.

The UK is banning Iran’s national carrier from operating flights to Britain, part of a new set of sanctions over Tehran’s supply of ballistic missiles to Ukraine.

Britain is joined by the US, France and Germany in new measures against Iran Air, which are being enforced alongside travel bans and the freezing of assets of Iranians accused of providing military support to Russia, officials said.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters that new sanctions on Iran Air would restrict its commercial flights from Iran to Britain and continental Europe.

Speaking to reporters, Kirby echoed comments earlier in London by US secretary of state Antony Blinken, who said Russia has received ballistic missiles from Iran and will likely use them in Ukraine within weeks.

“The supply of these Iranian missiles, which have a maximum range of about 75 miles, could allow Russia to use more of its arsenal for targets beyond the frontline while employing Iranian warheads for closer-range targets,” Kirby said.

Representatives of Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, which make up the BRICS alliance, will discuss initiatives on Ukraine at a security-focused meeting starting on Tuesday, the Ria news agency cited Russian Security Council Secretary Sergei Shoigu as saying.

The meeting is taking place in Russia on 10 – 12 September, he said.

The International Monetary Fund reached a preliminary agreement with Ukraine that would give the war-torn country access to about $1.1bn (£840m) in financial assistance.

The agreement follows what Kyiv said were “difficult” talks and is subject to approval by the fund’s executive board, which the IMF said in a statement is expected to happen in “coming weeks”.

“Russia’s war in Ukraine continues to have a devastating impact on the country and its people,” Gavin Gray, who led the IMF’s monitoring mission to Kyiv for the fifth review of the lending programme, said in a statement. “Skillful policymaking, the adaptability of households and firms, and robust external financing has helped support macroeconomic and financial stability,” he added.

Kyiv is spending about 60 per cent of its total budget to fund its army and relies heavily on financial support from its Western partners to pay pensions and wages to public sector employees and finance social and humanitarian spending.

Joe Biden said his administration is “working out” how the US can lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of long range weapons in its war against Russia.

The US has been reluctant to supply or sanction the use of weapons that could strike targets deep inside in Russia for fear it would escalate the conflict.

Kyiv’s other allies have been supplying weapons, but with restrictions on how and when they can be used inside Russia, out of concern such strikes could prompt retaliation that draws Nato countries into the war or provoke a nuclear conflict.

The US was close to an agreement to give Ukraine such weapons, but Kyiv will still need to wait several months as the US works through technical issues ahead of any shipment, according to sources aware of the matter.

Ukraine struck Moscow and western Russia in one of its biggest ever drone attacks, killing at least one woman, wrecking dozens of homes and forcing the closure of major airports in the capital, Russian officials said.

Social media videos showed flames bursting out of windows of a multi-storey residential building, saying that dozens of flats were damaged in the Ramenskoye district.

“I looked at the window and saw a ball of fire,” Alexander Li, a resident of the district told Reuters. “The window got blown out by the shockwave.”

The Ramenskoye district, some 50km (31 miles) southeast from the Kremlin, has a population of around quarter a million of people, according to official data.

Training Ukrainian soldiers “constrains” the UK’s ability to train its own troops, a watchdog has warned.

A National Audit Office (NAO) investigation of British military support for Ukraine found a quarter of the army’s training estate was being used for Operation Interflex, the UK’s basic infantry training programme for Ukrainian recruits.

The use of facilities for Operation Interflex has meant British army units saw bids for time in training areas rejected eight times more often in 2023 than they were in 2019.

In its report published today, the NAO said: “The MoD has acknowledged that Interflex will constrain the British army’s capacity to train its own soldiers.”

Another training programme for Ukrainian marines, Operation Interforge, had to be moved to the Netherlands earlier this year because “the use of training facilities in the UK was threatening to compromise the Royal Marines’ own training needs”, the NAO added.

Russia has claimed it will work with international organisations after alleging that Ukraine struck Moscow and western Russia in one of its biggest ever drone attacks.

State news agency Ria cited foreign ministry Maria Zakharova as saying they would open up to international organisations.

Previously, Russia has refused international help following strikes and a Ukrainian incursion into the border region of Kursk.