International
Washington and London leave in the air the authorization to use their missiles against Russia
The President of the United States, Joe Biden, and the British Prime Minister, Keir Starmer, reaffirmed their support for Ukraine this Friday, but left Kiev on embers by not announcing a decision on their request to authorize the use of long-range missiles against Russian territory.
Expectations were high around the meeting between the two leaders, although in the end the announcement that Kiev was waiting for was not made.
New debate at United Nations
In statements to the press after the meeting, Starmer said that discussions will continue with a “wider group of individuals” during the week of high-level meetings of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, to be held later this month.
“This meeting was not to make a concrete decision,” stressed Starmer, who defended Ukraine’s right to defend itself and assured that NATO will continue to support Ukraine.
The issue of the missiles did not appear either in the final statement of the meeting, in which both parties “reaffirmed their unwavering support for Ukraine while continuing to defend itself against Russia’s aggression,” nor in the statements that both leaders offered before the meeting to the media.
At that time, Biden was the first to take the floor to thank Starmer for the “leadership” that the United Kingdom has shown in the war in Ukraine and reiterated that Washington is “committed” to helping Ukraine in its defense of “Russian aggression.”
For his part, Starmer expressed his support for Ukraine in “this vital war for freedom” and said that the coming months will be “very important” for the course of the conflict.
US conditions
Hours before the meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had insisted again that Ukraine needs to attack military targets located within the Russian Federation to change the course of the war in its favor.
In addition to Ukraine, other allies on NATO’s east flank, such as Poland, want the US leader to allow Kiev to use long-range missiles to attack military targets within Russia, and Biden has been open to making some changes in the policy he has maintained so far.
The question is how far Biden will go and when he could announce a change.
So far, the Biden Government’s policy has been to support Ukraine and, since the beginning of the conflict, it has given it more than 55 billion dollars in weapons, but it has set conditions on how Kiev should use the weapons that the US delivers or that are made with American components to avoid an escalation with Russia.
Those restrictions, however, have been relaxed over time on some occasions. They are maintained in long-range missiles, but in May Biden authorized Kiev for the first time to carry out attacks on Russian territory, specifically to defend the then besieged city of Kharkiv (northeast of the country).
Putin’s warnings
A possible measure that Biden could take is to authorize Ukraine’s use of British Storm Shadow missiles to attack targets outside its territory. The United Kingdom and Ukraine would need the approval of the US president, since some components of these missiles are manufactured in the United States.
Kiev also wants authorization to use the US long-range missiles ATACMS against Russia, which Washington has already sent to Ukraine. However, White House spokesman John Kirby already warned this Friday at a press conference that Biden was not going to announce any change in US policy for the moment.
“There are no changes in our vision on the provision of long-range attack capabilities for Ukraine to use within Russia. I wouldn’t expect any important announcement about it,” he said.
One of the biggest fears in the United States remains an escalation with Russia. This week, Russian President Vladimir Putin warned that if Ukraine is authorized to use long-range missiles to hit targets on Russian territory, it would imply that NATO members, the United States and European countries would be at war with Russia.
International
Meta Says Russia Seeks to Ban WhatsApp for Defending Secure Communication
U.S. tech giant Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, said that Russia is seeking to ban the messaging app because it “challenges government attempts to violate people’s right to secure communication.”
Russian authorities have encouraged citizens to switch to state-backed applications, and in August they already blocked WhatsApp’s calling feature.
On Friday, the communications regulator Roskomnadzor claimed that the platform was being used to “organize and carry out terrorist acts in the country, recruit perpetrators, and facilitate fraud and other crimes.”
“If the messaging service does not comply with Russian law, it will be completely blocked,” the regulator warned.
WhatsApp remains one of Russia’s most widely used messaging services, alongside Telegram.
Moscow is pressuring both platforms to grant authorities access to user data upon request for investigations into fraud and activities the government labels as “terrorist.”
Human rights advocates fear the demand could be used to target critics of the Kremlin, President Vladimir Putin, or the war in Ukraine.
International
Archbishop Wenski criticizes Trump’s deportation policies, calls for stronger push for reform
The Archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, has called for increased pressure on the U.S. Congress to advance comprehensive immigration reform and criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies, arguing that they “do nothing to help.”
“We need to apply more pressure on Congress so lawmakers can make the necessary changes. It is also important for the Administration to listen to our voice. We do not want to be anyone’s enemy—we are Americans,” Wenski said in an interview with EFE.
The religious leader, who heads one of the dioceses with the largest Latino and Haitian populations in the United States, issued a call to defend the rights of migrants. He also emphasized that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has maintained a strong and public stance in favor of migrants for decades.
International
Trump relaunches diplomatic push to finalize U.S.-Backed peace plan for Ukraine War
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday that his diplomatic team will resume meetings with delegations from Russia and Ukraine in an effort to pressure both sides to accept the peace plan proposed by Washington to end the war in Ukraine.
As part of this new round of talks, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff will travel to Moscow to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Meanwhile, Army Secretary Dan Driscoll will hold discussions with Ukrainian representatives to narrow differences on the remaining points of the agreement.
Trump also confirmed his intention to meet personally with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and with Putin, though he emphasized that such meetings will only take place “when the agreement is fully finalized or in its final stage.”
The president claimed that his administration has made “tremendous progress” toward resolving the conflict and reiterated that the war “never would have started” if he had been in the White House at the onset of the crisis.
The U.S.-backed peace plan consists of 28 points and has been revised following feedback from both sides. According to Trump, only “a few points of disagreement” remain under active discussion.
One of the most controversial aspects of the proposal is the suggestion that Ukraine cede parts of the Donbas region to Russia and limit the size of its armed forces. Kyiv is working closely with Washington to soften these clauses in search of an arrangement that does not compromise its sovereignty or security.
With this diplomatic push, Trump aims to solidify his role as the main mediator in the conflict and steer the war toward a political resolution after years of devastation, humanitarian crisis, and rising global geopolitical tensions.
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