Blinken wraps up Ukraine-focused Europe trip in Poland with arms requests on the table

WARSAW (AP) — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken wrapped up a three-nation, Ukraine-focused European tour in Poland on Thursday after hearing repeated appeals from Ukrainian officials to use Western-supplied weaponry for long-range strikes inside Russia.

Blinken traveled to Warsaw after spending a day in Kyiv with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy during which they pledged to bring the Ukrainian requests to their leaders.

U.S. President Joe Biden and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer are to meet in the United States on Friday amid signs both Washington and London are growing more receptive to allowing the Ukrainians to use their arms to hit targets farther inside Russia than previously okayed.

“As what Russia’s doing has changed, as the battlefield has changed, we’ve adapted,” Blinken said at a news conference in Warsaw.

Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles across the border into Russia in self-defense, but has largely limited the distance they can be fired.

Just last week Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin met with Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelenskyy and pushed back on the long-range ask, noting that Ukraine has already been able to strike inside Russia with its own internally produced systems including drones.

One of the key requests from Kyiv is to strike with U.S.-produced Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS. The Pentagon has noted they wouldn't be the answer to the main threat Ukraine faces from long-range Russian fired glide bombs, which are being fired from more than 300 kilometers away, beyond the ATACMS reach, said Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Charlie Dietz.

In addition, the U.S. supply of ATACMS missiles, which can cost up to $1.5 million each depending on the variant, are “finite,” Dietz said. “We need to be judicious about where and when they are deployed.”

At Ramstein Air Base last week Austin said the arguments the Ukrainians have used for long range strikes are like the discussions the U.S. had with Ukraine over Abrams tanks. While those systems were ultimately provided, they are currently not being used.

“I don’t believe one specific capability will be decisive, and I stand by that comment,” Austin said in Germany.

At the Pentagon Thursday, press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder would not say if Austin's views had changed since last week.

“As of right now, the policy has not changed. I’ll just leave it there,” Ryder said.

In Warsaw, Blinken said, “One of the purposes of my visit to Kyiv yesterday was to hear from our Ukrainian partners what they believe they need now to deal with the current battlefield, including in eastern Ukraine and other parts of the country"

“I can tell you that as we go forward we will do exactly what we have already done, which is we will adjust as necessary … in order to defend against Russian aggression," Blinken said.

He delivered a similar message in Kyiv a day earlier. In both cases, the language was similar to that which he used in May, shortly before the U.S. green-lit Ukrainian use of U.S. weapons just inside Russian territory.

The diplomatic visit unfolded as Russia’s bigger and better-equipped army bears down on Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region and conducts aerial attacks on cities across the country using missiles, glide bombs and drones that claim many civilian casualties.

NATO member Poland, which shares a border with Ukraine, has been supportive of the Ukrainians and Blinken heard requests for easing weapons-use restrictions from Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski.

Sikorski argued that Ukraine should be allowed to use Western weapons against Russia in self-defense, because “Russia is committing war crimes by attacking civilian targets.”

“Missiles that hit these civilian targets are fired from bomber aircraft from over the territory of Russia. These bombers take off from airfields on Russia’s territory,” Sikorski said. “A victim of aggression has the right to defend itself.”

“So I believe that Ukraine has the right to use Western weapons to prevent war crimes,” Sikorski added.

Blinken also met in Warsaw with President Andrzej Duda and Prime Minister Donald Tusk, who share Sikorski's pro-Ukraine stance.

On Wednesday, Blinken and Lammy announced that the United States and Britain had pledged nearly $1.5 billion in additional aid to Ukraine during their visit to Kyiv. Blinken announced more than $700 million in humanitarian aid, while Lammy confirmed that his country would provide another $782 million in assistance and loan guarantees.

Much of the effort was aimed at bolstering the energy grid that Russia has repeatedly pounded ahead of an expected difficult winter.

Ukraine's wish list is long and non-military assistance is certainly on it, but Ukrainian officials made clear their most important ask is for easing restrictions on where Western weapons can be used. Air-raid sirens sounded repeatedly during the visit, causing delays in their schedule and forcing them to cancel a wreath-laying ceremony.

Blinken said he would bring the discussion with Zelenskyy about the missiles “back to Washington to brief the president” and that Biden and Starmer will “no doubt” talk about the issue when they meet in Washington.

Relations between Ukraine and its Western partners have been increasingly strained by Kyiv’s repeated appeals for the West’s authorization to use long-range weapons from the United States and other allies to strike targets deeper inside Russia.

That issue took on added urgency after Russia’s latest reported acquisition of ballistic missiles from Iran, but Western leaders have so far balked at Ukraine’s request, fearing that, if granted, it could escalate the war.

Zelenskyy has said that he has a plan for victory which includes several components, including goals Ukraine hopes to achieve on the battlefield as well as diplomatic and economic aims.

In late August he described Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk region as part of that plan, saying it had removed the Russian threat from Ukraine’s Kharkiv, Sumy and Chernihiv regions. He has said he hopes to present the plan to both Harris and Trump in September, not knowing which will win the presidency.

“Let’s count on some strong decisions, at least,” Zelenskyy said Wednesday. “For us, it’s very important.”

Vanessa Gera contributed from Warsaw. Tara Copp contributed from Washington.

Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski waits for the arrival of U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken for a talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, welcomes by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, right, for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, welcomes by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, right, for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, welcomes by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, right, for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, left, welcomes by Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski, right, for talks in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken waves as he arrives at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, second from right, welcomes by Ambassador of the United States to Poland Mark Brzezinski, second from left, as he arrives at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, center, arrives at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken waves as he arrives at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken waves as he arrives at Chopin Airport in Warsaw, Poland, Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein, Pool)

A key employee who labeled a doomed experimental submersible unsafe prior to its last, fatal voyage testified Tuesday that he frequently clashed with the company’s co-founder and felt the company was committed only to making money.

David Lochridge, OceanGate’s former operations director, is one of the most anticipated witnesses to appear before a commission trying to determine what caused the Titan to implode en route to the wreckage of the Titanic last year, killing all five on board. His testimony echoed that of other former employees Monday, one of whom described OceanGate head Stockton Rush as volatile and difficult to work with.

“The whole idea behind the company was to make money,” Lochridge said. “There was very little in the way of science.”

Rush was among the five people who died in the implosion. OceanGate owned the Titan and brought it on several dives to the Titanic going back to 2021.

His testimony began a day after other witnesses painted a picture of a troubled company that was impatient to get its unconventionally designed craft into the water. The accident set off a worldwide debate about the future of private undersea exploration.

The company, based in Washington state, suspended its operations after the implosion.

OceanGate's former engineering director, Tony Nissen, kicked off Monday's testimony, telling investigators that he felt pressured to get the vessel ready to dive and refused to pilot it for a journey several years before Titan's last trip.

“‘I’m not getting in it,’” Nissen said he told Rush.

When asked if there was pressure to get Titan into the water, Nissen responded, “100%.”

But asked if he felt that the pressure compromised safety decisions and testing, Nissen paused, then replied, “No. And that’s a difficult question to answer, because given infinite time and infinite budget, you could do infinite testing.”

OceanGate's former finance and human resources director, Bonnie Carl, testified Monday that Lochridge had characterized the Titan as “unsafe.” Lochridge is expected to provide more perspective on what caused the implosion.

Coast Guard officials noted at the start of the hearing that the submersible had not been independently reviewed, as is standard practice. That and Titan's unusual design subjected it to scrutiny in the undersea exploration community.

During the submersible's final dive on June 18, 2023, the crew lost contact after an exchange of texts about the Titan's depth and weight as it descended. The support ship Polar Prince then sent repeated messages asking if the Titan could still see the ship on its onboard display.

One of the last messages from Titan’s crew to Polar Prince before the submersible imploded stated, “all good here,” according to a visual re-creation presented earlier in the hearing.

When the submersible was reported overdue, rescuers rushed ships, planes and other equipment to an area about 435 miles (700 kilometers) south of St. John’s, Newfoundland. Wreckage of the Titan was subsequently found on the ocean floor about 330 yards (300 meters) off the bow of the Titanic, Coast Guard officials said.

Scheduled to appear later in the hearing are OceanGate co-founder Guillermo Sohnlein and former scientific director, Steven Ross, according to a list compiled by the Coast Guard. Numerous guard officials, scientists, and government and industry officials are also expected to testify. The U.S. Coast Guard subpoenaed witnesses who were not government employees, said Coast Guard spokesperson Melissa Leake.

Among those not on the hearing witness list is Rush’s widow, Wendy Rush, the company’s communications director. Asked about her absence, Leake said the Coast Guard does not comment on the reasons for not calling specific individuals to a particular hearing during ongoing investigations. She said it’s common for a Marine Board of Investigation to “hold multiple hearing sessions or conduct additional witness depositions for complex cases.”

OceanGate has no full-time employees at this time but will be represented by an attorney during the hearing, the company said in a statement. The company said it has been fully cooperating with the Coast Guard and NTSB investigations since they began.

The time frame for the investigation was initially a year, but the inquiry has taken longer. The ongoing Marine Board of Investigation is the highest level of marine casualty investigation conducted by the Coast Guard. When the hearing concludes, recommendations will be submitted to the Coast Guard’s commandant. The National Transportation Safety Board is also conducting an investigation.

Coast Guard's Thomas Whalen, left, speaks with Nicole Emmons, right, during a break for the Titan marine board formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard's Thomas Whalen speaks with another Coast Guard member during a break for the Titan marine board formal hearing inside the Charleston County Council Chambers, Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Jason Neubauer, board chairman, of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing pauses for a moment of silence inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard members of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing pause for a moment of silence inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

Coast Guard members of the investigative board for the Titan marine board formal hearing take an oath inside the Charleston County Council Chambers Monday, Sept. 16, 2024, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/Mic Smith)

A key employee who called the Titan unsafe will testify before the Coast Guard

FILE - This undated image provided by OceanGate Expeditions in June 2021 shows the company's Titan submersible. (OceanGate Expeditions via AP, File)

A key employee who called the Titan unsafe will testify before the Coast Guard