Awaiting the White House to authorize the use of long-range missiles against targets in Russia, European diplomats say official Kiev needs to be more realistic about its military goals.

US President Joseph Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are likely to give the "green light" to Volodymyr Zelensky to target Russia with long-range missiles at a White House meeting tomorrow. The US and other Western partners have so far balked at the decision over concerns that it would spark a direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow.

Asked whether the United States would lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons in its war against Russia, Biden said his administration was "looking at that issue now."

On the other hand, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said yesterday that the decision has probably already been made. And now, as he says, a campaign is being conducted in the media in order to officialize the decision already made:

"At the same time, the attempts of the USA and European countries to distance themselves from involvement in the Ukrainian conflict continue. We think it doesn't work - he pointed out.

The head of the State Department, Anthony Blinken, who arrived in Kiev yesterday together with the British Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, did not answer whether Washington would allow Kiev to use the long-range ATAKMS and Storm Shadow missiles for attacks deep in territory of the Russian Federation, saying that several factors come into consideration in this matter.

Before leaving for Kiev, Blinken said in London that he would talk to Zelensky and other officials about Kiev's military goals and ways Washington could help.

Russia is preparing to retaliate fiercely

A warning has already arrived from Moscow that, if Kiev's wish is fulfilled, Russia will have to respond with more powerful and destructive weapons:

"Washington and other European states are becoming participants in the war in Ukraine. Addressing the United States, Germany, France, England with a request for the delivery of long-range weapons, missiles and other techniques and taking into account the attacks on Russian territory, Zelensky made those countries become direct participants in the conflict in Ukraine," wrote Russian Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin on Telegram.

In a situation where, as Sergei Shoigu, the secretary of the Security Council of the Russian Federation claims, Ukraine is losing 28 square kilometers of territory every day, behind the scenes, Kiev is under increasing pressure to think of a "plan B" for further war with Russia.

Diplomatic pressure for Kiev to come up with a more realistic "plan B"

As "The Wall Street Journal" reports, as the will to continue military aid to Ukraine is waning, the United States and certain European countries are increasingly pressing Kiev to formulate a credible plan for what it can achieve if the war continues next year.

US and European allies continue to support Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's long-term goal of pushing the Russian military out of all Ukrainian territory. But with public support in the West waning and Ukraine making slow progress in gaining territory, some European diplomats say official Kiev needs to be more realistic in its military goals.

Blinken's visit to Kiev therefore comes at a delicate time for Ukraine, amid declining support for continued war funding in the West and the onset of the Ukrainian winter. Despite the military incursion into the Kursk region, Moscow and Kiev have signaled they are open to a ceasefire.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Zelensky agreed that a new peace conference is needed in which Russia will also participate. Moscow did not reject this idea like the failed summit in June in Switzerland, to which it was not invited. Russia will be ready to discuss a possible meeting place to resolve the Ukrainian conflict when it understands what will be discussed there, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said.

Diplomatic pressure for Kiev to come up with a more realistic "plan B", which would pave the way for negotiations with Russia, comes before Zelensky's departure to the United States. He promised that during his participation in the General Assembly of the United Nations he would present what he called a "plan for victory". Zelensky noted that he wants to meet with presidential candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris to get their support. But it is still not clear whether there will be meetings with them.