Zelensky urges U.S. to lift restrictions on long-range missile strikes against Russia
Speaking at a security conference in Singapore, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky expressed his gratitude to Joe Biden for allowing Ukraine to conduct strikes on Russian territory using American weaponry. However, he stated that restrictions on the use of long-range systems, such as ATACMS missiles, should also be lifted.
"Is this (permission) sufficient? No. Why? Because, as I explained with the example of airfields from which Russia continuously fires, they feel assured that Ukraine won't retaliate since we lack the appropriate systems and permissions," Zelensky said.
He emphasized that Russia continues to employ long-range artillery and maintains around 300 weapons systems with tens of thousands of rockets near its border to attack Ukraine.
"They (the Russians) have this weaponry and do not remove it because they know that Ukraine cannot target them with Western weapons, even if they fire at us," President Zelensky elaborated.
Ukraine has confirmed limited permission to strike targets in the Russian territory using American weaponry.
The White House clarified that permission to use American weapons includes border areas not only in the Kharkiv region but also in the Sumy region. However, the authorization does not extend to long-range ATACMS missiles