U.S. not ready to openly discuss allowing Ukraine to strike at Russian territory - Matthew Bryza

He spoke about this in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program on Espreso TV.

“We know that President Zelenskyy is going to present his peace plan to President Biden, and there have been high expectations, at least outside of the White House. When Keir Starmer visited Washington recently, and then when Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Secretary of State Antony Blinken visited President Zelensky, there were expectations of an imminent announcement from the US and the UK. People thought the leaders might permit Ukraine to use ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles deeper into Russian territory. However, that agreement hasn't been announced yet," commented Matthew Bryza.

According to him, the US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan was recently asked about this authorization and he simply replied: “I can't make any announcement at this time.” This does not mean that the authorization has not been granted or that it will not be granted, but that the United States is not ready to discuss this issue openly.

“For now, the momentum in the Biden Administration and in the Starmer administration in London seems to be moving toward supporting President Zelensky's peace plan by helping Ukraine protect itself against Russia's standoff attacks with glide bombs and ballistic missiles. I think that's positive momentum.

The fear of escalation has indeed prevented the Biden Administration from granting permission for the use of weapons deeper into Russian territory.

The lack of this permission only allows and encourages Putin to continue devastating Ukraine's energy infrastructure. Clearly, London wants to persuade Washington to grant permission for Ukraine to defend itself more effectively. While attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure are ongoing, there seem to be discussions underway that could lead to an agreement where Ukraine and Russia would stop targeting each other’s energy infrastructure,” the diplomat noted.

In his view, this could be a constructive step toward changing the momentum and direction of the conflict. In addition, Ukraine's success in advancing into Russia to protect its northern regions, especially around Sumy, has changed the psychology of the conflict from a perceived deadlock to one in which Ukraine is perceived as a capable and innovative state.

“The recent attack in Western Tver Oblast, which occurred the other days, was an impressive drone strike that caused enormous explosions throughout the town. The destruction of the ballistic missiles, glide bombs, and other ammunition depots clearly impacted Russia's ability to launch attacks with these weapons into Ukraine. I expect that permission will eventually be granted by Washington and London. Once Ukraine starts using these more effective weapons, I believe we’ll see a shift in the momentum of the war in Ukraine’s favor. This could make Putin more willing to negotiate in good faith,” Bryza summarized.

What is known about long-range strikes permission on Russia

On August 29, CNN reported that Andriy Yermak and Rustem Umerov would meet with US officials to “try to specifically persuade the White House to lift restrictions on long-range military strikes on Russian territory.”

Ukraine's Defense Minister Rustem Umerov presented a list of targets in Russia that the Armed Forces could strike with American long-range weapons if they had the opportunity.

On August 31, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also appealed to a number of Western countries to give Ukraine permission to conduct long-range strikes against Russia.

The United States is close to an agreement to provide Ukraine with longer-range missiles to strike deep into Russia. The decision may be announced this fall.

U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin stated that the United States has not permitted Ukraine to strike deep into Russia, emphasizing that such actions would not constitute a "turning point" in the war.

On September 10, it was announced that US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and British Foreign Secretary David Lammy would make a joint visit to Ukraine.

On September 19, US State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said that the United States is discussing with its allies the possibility of allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to strike Russian territory.