Zelenskyy: US, Germany, France, and Italy seek unity on allowing Ukraine to strike inside Russia
As Ukraine works to neutralize Russia’s drone and missile threats, approval for such operations remains critical to its defense strategy.
On 17 October, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that the US, Germany, France, and Italy are working toward a unified stance on allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against targets on Russian territory, according to Ukrinform.
Russia launches Shahed drones and guided bombs on Ukrainian cities and villages every day. To stop this, Ukraine aims to strike Russian airports, bases, and drone and ammunition depots. However, it needs approval from its partners to carry out assaults inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons.
“Among the leaders of the countries I’ve spoken to about long-range weapons—the US, Germany, France, and Italy—there were very positive signals, but we must understand that these countries want to form a united front regarding permission for Ukraine to use such weapons,” said Zelenskyy.
He emphasized that he would like to see the US, Ukraine’s main defense donor, take more positive and decisive steps regarding the matter.
“It is crucial for us,” the Ukrainian president stressed.
He made these remarks during a press conference following the European Council meeting.
For months, Ukraine has been persuading its Western partners to allow it to target Russian bases with Western weapons to diminish the aggressor’s offensive potential.
Currently, Ukraine relies on domestically produced weapons, primarily strike drones, to target military facilities across various regions of Russia, including ammunition depots, missile storage sites, and military airfields.
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