The United States and its allies are once again considering expanding the capabilities they provide to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.

There is an air of desperation around Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky these days as he tries to convince his Western allies, the United States in particular, that he has a realistic plan to force Russian President Vladimir Putin to give up his maximalist goals and sue for peace.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO alliance leaders that a move to lift restrictions on Ukraine’s use of longer-range Western missiles to strike deep inside his country would be considered an act of war.

Much of the public discourse about arming Ukraine has revolved around whether the United States will send “long range” weapons. But that can mean different things.

Russian officials delivered dissonant statements in the past week about how Moscow would respond to Western weapons striking deep inside its territory, and whether such attacks will happen at all. Russian diplomats played on the now-familiar threat of a nuclear response.