US, UK put off Ukraine long-range missiles decision

Leaders of the two countries to discuss plan with 'wider group of individuals' at UN meet

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British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and US President Joe Biden on Sept 13 delayed a decision to let Ukraine fire longrange Western-supplied missiles into Russia, a plan that sparked dire threats from Moscow of a war with Nato.

Mr Starmer told reporters at the White House that he had a "wideranging discussion about strategy" with Mr Biden but that it "wasn't a meeting about a particular capability".

Before the meeting, officials had said Mr Starmer would press Mr Biden to back his plan to send British Storm Shadow missiles to Ukraine to hit deeper inside Russia as allies become increasingly concerned about the battlefield situation.

But the Labour leader indicated that he and Mr Biden would now discuss the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York next week "with a wider group of individuals".

As they met with their teams across a long table in the White House, backed by US and British flags, Mr Biden played down a warning by Russian President Vladimir Putin that allowing Ukraine to fire the weapons would mean the West was "at war" with Russia.

"I don't think much about Vladimir Putin," Mr Biden told reporters when asked about the comments.