September 14, 2024 | 07.33
READING TIME: 3 minutes
The British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said the UK and US had reached a “strong position” in seeking a solution to the conflict in Ukraine after his meeting with President Joe Biden. With one thing in mind: the unwavering support for Kiev against Russiauntil Vladimir Putin’s defeat in the war. Starmer described his talks with Biden as “long and productive”, but declined to elaborate on what decisions the two have made regarding the potential use of Western weapons by Ukraine against Russian targets. Meanwhile Ukraine received 49 prisoners of war from Russia in latest prisoner swapPresident Volodymyr Zelensky announced. “These are fighters of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the National Guard, the police, the Border Guard Service, and also our civilians,” Zelensky wrote on Telegram.
The Starmer-Biden meeting
At the start of their meeting in the White House Blue Room in Washington DC, Biden said “I don’t think much about Vladimir Putin” when asked about the Russian president’s threats against Nato. Asked what they had decided in relation to Ukraine’s potential use of long-range missiles, Starmer said: “We had a broad discussion about strategy in Ukraine, of course, in the Middle East and other parts of the world. We took the time, which we did, to have a strategic discussion so that tactical decisions could be seen within a broader strategy.”
At the start of the meeting, Starmer said the coming weeks and months would be “crucial” for Ukraine and that it was “important” that the two countries continue to support the Eastern European nation in its fight against Russia. The meeting comes as Zelensky has expressed frustration over continued restrictions on the use of Western weapons against Russian targets.
Concern over escalation was one reason Kiev has not yet been given the green light for the unrestricted use of Western weapons. Iran has been hit by sanctions from the UK and US after the two countries formally accused Tehran of supplying ballistic missiles to Russia. Lammy and Blinken announced further financial support for Ukraine, including a package of £600 million ($788 million) from the UK and $717 million from the US to meet immediate humanitarian, energy and stabilisation needs.
The UK package includes a reaffirmation of Rishi Sunak’s £242m pledge, as well as $484m in World Bank loan guarantees by the end of the year, while the US package includes $325m to support Ukraine’s energy needs.
Russia exchanges prisoners, including some from Mariupol
Among those released, the Ukrainian president said, there are 23 women. The number of prisoners handed over to Russia was not disclosed. However, the coordination staff for prisoners of war issues mentioned an exchange. Initially, there was no information from the Russian side. According to Ukrainian data, Moscow and Kiev have already exchanged prisoners 56 times. In total, 3,569 Ukrainians have been released from Russia to the Ukrainian side.
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