Ukraine war faces a major turning point

“I don’t think that much about Vladimir Putin,” a visibly angry US President Joe Biden snapped back recently when asked by a journalist whether the White House is frightened of the Russian leader and apprehensive about the danger of a broader military confrontation between America and Russia.

But the reality remains that by the end of September –

when world leaders convene in New York

for the annual meeting of the United Nations General Assembly – Mr Biden will be compelled to

make a critical strategic choice

: whether to allow Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons to hit deep inside Russia, or whether to continue the current US ban, which restricts the use of such armaments solely to the defence of Ukrainian territory from Russian invaders.