STARM OFFENSIVE Starmer stares down Putin threat as he arrives for war talks with Biden over long-range missiles for Ukraine

 SIR Keir Starmer today arrived in Washington DC for crunch talks on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza.

This evening the PM will meet US President Joe Biden in the White House where the pair will discuss whether to grant Volodymyr Zelenskyy permission to fire long-range missiles into Russia

Sir Keir Starmer landed in Washington DC this morning to hold crunch talks with US President Joe Biden on the war in Ukraine
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Sir Keir Starmer landed in Washington DC this morning to hold crunch talks with US President Joe Biden on the war in UkraineCredit: Reuters
The PM told The Sun's Political Editor Harry Cole that Ukraine has the right to self-defence
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The PM told The Sun's Political Editor Harry Cole that Ukraine has the right to self-defenceCredit: Reuters
The PM is being joined on the trip by Foreign Secretary David Lammy
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The PM is being joined on the trip by Foreign Secretary David LammyCredit: Reuters
Mad Vlad Putin has threatened World War Three with the West if it grants Ukraine permission to use British-made missiles
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Mad Vlad Putin has threatened World War Three with the West if it grants Ukraine permission to use British-made missilesCredit: Getty
A bomb blitz destroying pontoons over the Seym river
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A bomb blitz destroying pontoons over the Seym riverCredit: East2West

It came as Mad Vlad Putin vowed World War Three if the West allows British missiles to be fired on Russia by Ukraine.

But last night Sir Keir Starmer told The Sun the Kremlin tyrant “started it.”

Putin yesterday warned granting permission for the Ukranians to use British and French kit to pound targets deep within Russian territory would mean war.

He said: "This would in a significant way change the very nature of the conflict... It would mean that Nato countries are at war with Russia.Last night the Kremlin accused six British diplomats of espionage and revoked their accreditation, according to Russian news outlets.

The FSB, Russia's secret service, hasn't named any of the six diplomats but insisted that they were a threat to the pariah state's security.

The ageing despot made the comments about the use of Nato-member missiles to Russian state-controlled TV on Thursday.

Answering a question about the probable outcome, Putin added: "If that's the case, then taking into account the change of nature of the conflict, we will take the appropriate decisions based on the threats that we will face.But plucky Sir Keir batted away the threat saying: “Russia started this conflict. Russia illegally invaded Ukraine. Russia can end this conflict straight away. 

“Ukraine has the right to self defence, and obviously we've been absolutely fully supportive of Ukraine's right to self defence, providing training capabilities. 

"But we don't seek any conflict with Russia, that's not our intention in the slightest. But they started this conflict, and Ukraine's got a right to self defence.”

Zelensky has continuously demanded more air defence systems and increased armaments from the West to aid in the conflict.

But Mad Vlad stated that the choice of whether or not to grant these demands rested with the NATO members' desire to be "directly involved in the conflict."

Sir Keir has a scheduled meeting with President Joe Biden at the White House on Friday, marking his second visit to Washington as prime minister.

Among the many topics anticipated to be covered is Ukraine's 2.5-year conflict with Russia.

More than £600 million in support for Ukraine has already been approved by Foreign Minister David Lammy, while US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has pledged over $700 million (£534 million).

Zelensky's most recent efforts to remove the limits on UK Storm Shadow long-range missiles are still pending.

If they proceed, it could drastically change the direction of the battle by enabling Ukrainian forces to fire up to 190 kilometres into Russian territory.

"This is the moment" to lift restrictions, Tory peer Lord Hamilton told the House of Lords on Thursday.

He asked: “It was rumoured that this had been agreed in the papers yesterday. But can (Foreign Office minister Baroness Chapman of Darlington) confirm that we are going to go ahead and allow the Ukrainians to do that?”

While declining to say if this would be approved, Baroness Chapman stated that the "defence of Ukraine is the defence of the United Kingdom."

It comes as it was revealed this morning that Joe Biden has a top-secret plan to beat Vladimir Putin before leaving the White House.

The US President aims to improve Ukraine's "strategic position" of Ukraine on the frontline, a senior US official told the WSJ.

"The goal is to improve Ukraine's strategic position to the greatest extent possible between now and the end of the term," they saidOther US officials told the newspaper that the President's aides have tempered expectations of what Ukraine can achieve before the end of Biden's term in January.

But they are not pushing for peace talks or "trying to dictate" battlefield plans, the officials added.

Storm Shadow missiles have been used by Ukraine but there are limits from the UK on their use
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Storm Shadow missiles have been used by Ukraine but there are limits from the UK on their useC

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