Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy expressed frustration Friday that the U.S. and European nations are limiting Ukraine’s strike capabilities.
The Biden administration and European governments have thrown their support behind Ukraine’s war and have allowed the country to strike within limited areas in Russia, but have been wary about letting Kyiv use Western-provided weapons to hit targets deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine has long requested the ability to do so and Zelenskyy made it clear on Friday Kyiv’s displeasure with the U.S. and the West’s hesitation.
“We think it is wrong that there are such steps,” Zelenskyy said from a meeting at a U.S. military base in Germany, sitting alongside U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman C.Q. Brown, according to The Washington Post. “We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace.”
Kyiv feels that if it can use long-range weapons to hit targets further inside Russian territory, it would give Ukraine more leverage in the war and possible ceasefire negotiations. But the U.S. and the West have said that such a move wouldn’t give Ukraine any tangible strategic advantage, and could risk escalating the war and further pull the U.S. into the conflict.
White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday that the U.S. has not yet changed its view the matter, despite the increasingly loud calls from Kyiv.
“There’s been no change in our policy with respect to long-range missile capabilities and where and what and how Ukraine can use those capabilities,” Kirby said, seeming to leave the door open to future policy changes. Some Western nations have started to agree that Ukraine should be allowed to use weapons for long-range strikes, according to The Associated Press.
Zelenskyy also said Friday that Ukraine is not being given enough weaponry to fight Russia, specifically pointing out that some of the promised weapons systems have not yet been delivered.
“I will not speak openly now about the number of systems we have received, thank you so much again, but the number of air defense systems that have not yet been delivered is significant,” Zelenskyy said.
Austin said that the U.S. understood the urgency of the situation, according to Air and Space Forces Magazine. The Pentagon announced a $250 million aid package for Ukraine following the meeting.
“On behalf of everyone here, we hear your urgency,” Austin told Zelenskyy on Friday.
More than two years in, the Russia-Ukraine war had largely stalled out until last month, when Ukrainian forces made a surprising incursion into southwest Russia and pushed Russian forces back. Zelenskyy said on Friday that Ukrainian forces have now seized more than 800 miles of territory, according to the AP.
Austin noted that while Russia may have been caught off-guard, “we know Putin’s malice runs deep” and Moscow is unlikely to stop trying to seize further Ukrainian territory, according to the AP. Russia conducted incredibly deadly strikes against Ukraine this week, killing at least 50 people, according to the AP.
(Featured Image Media Credit: DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jack Sanders)
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