Pressure grows on President Biden to allow Ukraine to use US-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory ( www.bbc.com )

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Pressure is growing on US President Joe Biden to allow Ukraine to use West-supplied weapons to strike Russian territory.

Russia's Vladimir Putin has warned of "serious consequences", especially for what he called "small countries" in Europe.On Wednesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Washington’s stance on the matter would "adapt and adjust" based on changing battlefield conditions.

He is currently in the Czech capital, Prague, for a meeting of Nato foreign ministers.White House national security spokesman John Kirby said late on Wednesday that even though US support for Kyiv had evolved, "right now, there's also no change to our policy".

Ukraine has been struggling to counter a Russian offensive in the east of the country, while the city of Kharkiv has suffered weeks of deadly attacks, often launched by Russia from military outposts near the Ukrainian border.Mr Blinken’s statement, during a trip to Europe, followed more direct comments made earlier this week by France’s President Emmanuel Macron, who said Ukraine should be “allowed” to use weapons supplied by the West against military sites on Russian territory - although strictly not on civilian targets.

Mr Macron has for some time advocated for more direct intervention in the Ukraine war – but other Western leaders also appear to be softening to the idea.German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has remained cautious in public but a spokesman in Berlin said that "defensive action is not limited to one's own territory, but also includes the territory of the aggressor".Last week, Nato chief Jens Stoltenberg told the Economist that the West should allow Ukraine to defend itself by striking military bases in Russia.

And that includes striking targets on Russian territory,” he said.UK Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron said earlier this month that it was up to Ukraine to decide how to use British weapons, while this week the Polish Deputy Defence Minister said that Ukrainians could use Polish weapons “as they see fit”.Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has previously said it was "unfair" for Western countries to impose limits on the use of their weapons, while acknowledging that Ukraine could not risk the support of its partners.

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