![Title icon](https://static.semafor.com/_next/static/media/thenews@2x.f322bda2.png)
The News
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy urged British Prime Minister Keir Starmer to “show your leadership” by pushing other Western countries to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons inside Russia during a meeting with the UK cabinet on Friday.
This step would “force Russia to seek peace,” Zelenskyy said.
His in-person cabinet address was the first of any foreign leader since US President Bill Clinton in 1997, the BBC reported.
The UK is among several European NATO members — such as Germany, France, and Poland — to indicate that it will not stop Ukraine from using provided weapons to defend itself, including by striking Russian targets in some cases.
The Biden administration has so far resisted calls to lift all restrictions on how American weapons are deployed in Russian territory over fears of escalating the conflict, but some analysts have described this position as a “military absurdity” that enables Russia to use its border with Ukraine as a safe haven for launching attacks.