Keir Starmer, Britain’s new prime minister, met with President Biden today at the White House to discuss Western support for Ukraine. Starmer was expected to urge Biden to allow the Ukrainians to fire NATO-provided missiles deep inside Russian territory.

Getting Biden’s approval on such strikes is critical: the missiles use satellite data and other technology supplied by the U.S. Recent indications suggest that Biden will eventually give his sign off, so long as American weapons are not being fired deep inside Russia.

Starmer’s push has stoked tensions between London and Russia. Russia expelled six British diplomats today, accusing them of espionage, and Vladimir Putin said yesterday that Western support for Ukrainian strikes in Russia would mean that NATO countries, including the U.S., would be “at war” with Russia.

American and European officials insist that Ukraine’s efforts to expand its gains on the battlefield — including by using NATO-provided missiles — could encourage Putin to seriously engage in peace negotiations.

In related news, the U.S., Canada and Britain accused RT, Russia’s global television network, of working on behalf of Russian intelligence agencies.