Sawt Falasteen - US, UK pledge economic aid, quick action over arms for Ukraine

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy made a rare joint visit to Kyiv in a show of solidarity.

It came amid growing concern over the situation on the battlefield and the uncertain future of Washington's stance on the war.

Russia's alleged acquisition of new short-range Iranian missiles threatens to ramp up Moscow's firepower, while November's US presidential election could result in a dramatic shift in the stance of Ukraine's top backer.

Blinken, who made the nine-hour train ride to Kyiv with Lammy, said the United States would offer $717 million in fresh economic aid to Ukraine.

About half of it will consist of US support to strengthen Ukraine's electricity infrastructure, which has been pounded by Russia just as winter sets in.

Blinken accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of dusting off "his winter playbook" to "weaponise the cold against the Ukrainian people".

"Our support will not wane, our unity will not break," Blinken told reporters in Kyiv.

"Putin will not outlast the coalition of countries committed to Ukraine's success, and he is certainly not going to outlast the Ukrainian people."

Lammy reiterated his Labour government's pledge to provide £600 million ($782 million) in economic assistance to Ukraine.

Britain, which has consistently pushed to ease restrictions on Ukraine's use of weapons, would provide hundreds of new air-defence missiles to Ukraine this year, he added.

- Russian advances -

Russia has been advancing on the key logistics hub of Pokrovsk in the eastern Donetsk region, a month after Kyiv launched a shock counter-offensive into Russia's Kursk region.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has stepped up his requests to the West in recent months to provide weapons with more firepower and fewer restrictions.

In an online post on Wednesday evening, noting he had had "very substantive" talks with Blinken and Lammy, he thanked both countries for their support.

But he added: "It is important that Ukrainian arguments are heard.

"This includes the long-range weapons, the supply of combat brigades on the front lines, and the overall strategy for achieving a just peace."

Earlier, Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiga told journalists: "It is important to lift any restrictions on the use of US and British weapons against legitimate military targets in Russia."

Blinken said Washington would look at the requests "with urgency". They would be discussed on Friday in Washington when President Joe Biden meets UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, he said.

Biden, while strongly supportive of Ukraine, has previously made clear he wants to avoid devolving into direct conflict between the United States and Russia, the world's two leading nuclear powers.

- 'Appropriate response' -

Asked how Moscow would respond to expanded missile ranges, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov on Wednesday told reporters that the response "will be appropriate", without providing specific details.

The authorisation of Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory would serve as "further proof" of why Moscow launched its offensive, which he said was itself an "answer" to the West's support for Ukraine.

Washington said it believed that Russia could start firing short-range Iranian-made missiles into Ukraine within weeks.

Cash-strapped Iran went ahead with the sale of the missiles despite repeated warnings from Western powers, which on Tuesday announced fresh sanctions against Tehran.

The United States earlier this year cleared Ukraine to use Western weapons to hit Russian forces when in direct conflict across the border.

British media reports said Biden was set to end objections to letting Ukraine fire long-range Storm Shadow missiles into Russia.

One key request by Ukraine is to loosen restrictions on US-supplied Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, which can hit targets up to 300 kilometres (190 miles) away.

Both Republican and Democratic members of Congress have pushed Biden to move quickly on the ATACMS issue.

Trump aides have suggested that if he wins, he would leverage aid to force Kyiv into territorial concessions to Russia to end the war.

At a debate on Tuesday with Harris, Trump -- who in the past has voiced admiration for Putin -- notably did not say he wanted Ukraine to win, only that he wanted to end the war quickly.

B.AbuZeid--SF-PST