Zelensky still wants to use long-range Western weapons for attacks deep inside Russia, which the policy change reportedly still does not allow
Vladimir Zelensky’s office has confirmed that the US has granted Kiev permission to use American weapons to target certain parts of Russia that were allegedly previously off limits.
Although Washington did not make an official statement on the policy change, multiple Western news outlets confirmed it on Thursday. According to US officials, Kiev was previously not allowed to deploy American arms outside of what Washington recognizes as Ukrainian territory. Now, however, limited strikes are allowed against direct threats to Kharkov Region, where Russian troops made significant gains earlier this month.
“It will significantly boost our ability to counter Russian attempts to mass across the border,” Zelensky’s press secretary Sergey Nikoforov told The Guardian, as quoted on Friday.
A US official quoted earlier by the New York Times said the shift was creating “a new reality” for the world. The report said further relaxation of the US restrictions may follow in the future.
In the interview with The Guardian, Zelensky made it clear that his government expected bolder steps from Washington. He wants to use “powerful” long-range Western weapons, such as ATACMS missiles, to strike targets deeper inside Russia.
Zelensky complained that the UK, whose Foreign Secretary David Cameron stated this month that Ukraine “has the right” to launch British weapons at Russia, had not given “100% permission” to do so. The Ukrainian leader believes that London is waiting for the greenlight from Washington.
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday reacted to media reports of the shift in American policy. Western accounts of the situation in Kharkov Region fail to show the entire picture, he said. Kiev had been striking Russia’s neighboring Belgorod Region for months and ignored Russian warnings that it would have to act to create a buffer zone to stop them.
