Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s meeting with the US president at the White House on Thursday will mark the latest attempt by the Ukrainian leader to convince the Biden administration on the need for the latest military kit to fend off Russia’s attacks: long-range missiles.
Since the launch of the Russian full-scale invasion, Ukraine’s western allies have repeatedly had to be cajoled and reassured by Kyiv that introducing new weapons on Ukraine’s side is worth the risk, and Moscow will not follow through on threats to retaliate against them.
Ukraine has repeatedly pleaded with the US to provide such missiles to strike the bases of the warplanes Russia uses to drop glide bombs and launch missiles targeting Ukrainian cities.