Lammy urges ‘guts’ in ongoing US talks over Ukraine using missiles in Russia

The UK foreign secretary, David Lammy, has indicated that delicate negotiations with the White House to allow Ukraine to use Storm Shadow missiles inside Russia are ongoing, arguing it was a time for “nerve and guts”.

The apparent encouragement to Joe Biden comes just over a week after Lammy and Keir Starmer visited the US president in the White House but failed to resolve the sticking point between two countries.

Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour party conference in Liverpool, Lammy said the hardship and challenges of the war in Ukraine would get “deeper and harsher”, particularly heading into “the back end of 2025 into 2026” and beyond.

“So this is a critical time for nerve and guts and patience and for fortitude on behalf of allies who stand with Ukraine,” he said in comments that appeared directed at a hesitant White House, concerned about the risks of allowing Storm Shadow missiles to be used to attack Russia.

Lammy emphasised that Ukraine and its western allies were discussing “what more might be necessary” to help Kyiv on the battlefield beyond trying to hold the frontline, which is under acute pressure in the east.

“I am not going to as foreign secretary, of course, comment on operational details, because that can only aid Putin,” Lammy said, in an apparent reference to Storm Shadow missiles. “But there is a very real-time discussion across allies about how we can support Ukraine as we head into winter.”

Ukraine’s President Voldymyr Zelenskyy called on Biden again on Saturday to allow Ukraine to carry out long-range strikes inside Russia. His plea came before a critical meeting between the two on Thursday at the UN general assembly in New York. The issue, he added, remained unresolved despite Starmer lobbying Biden in person nine days ago.

Zelenskyy wants to be able to use British, French and Italian Storm Shadow missiles, as well as US-made Atacms to hit airbases and other military targets inside Russia. He has argued that the Kremlin could be motivated to seek peace if it was clear that Ukraine could strike targets closer to Moscow.

The UK has donated Storm Shadow missiles from its stocks, but its European partners and the US need to give their permission for Ukraine use them on Russian soil. The weapons also rely on a US guidance system to evade Russian jamming, without which they risk being ineffective if launched.

Starmer’s White House meeting with Biden, where they discussed the issue, the wider Ukraine war, the Middle East and China, was deliberately low key. No announcement about Storm Shadow had been expected, but the absence of a briefing after the summit suggested no breakthrough had been achieved.

Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK and the country’s former top military commander, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, was also present at the Labour conference fringe event, which was organised by the Tony Blair Institute. Zaluzhnyi said Ukraine was “still serious about winning this war” and listed a series of requests to help it do so.

“First of all we need to have enough modern weapons,” he said. “Long-range air and ground facilities are critically important. Lifting restrictions of using the weapons military targets in Russia is critical. These would help protect civilians from Russian missiles and glide bombs.”

The ambassador also called for further tightening of sanctions against Russia, future Nato membership for Kyiv, and notably “a political decision” to allow western allies “to shoot down drones and missiles above western Ukraine” with their own fighter jets and air-defence systems.

The US, UK and other countries in the Middle East came to Israel’s aid in April when Iran launched a major missile and drone attack against it. That prompted Zelenskyy to ask why such support could not be provided to Kyiv, which would free up some of the country’s military to fight on the frontlines in the south and east.