Zelensky: Ukraine is “pressing” the issue of strikes on military targets in Russia
15 July 2024 16:52
President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced a gradual change in the position of Western partners regarding the use of their weapons to strike military targets in Russia. During a meeting with Ukrainian journalists in Kyiv on 15 July, he spoke about “positive signals” in this direction, writes "Komersant Ukrainian"
Zelensky recalled the previous restrictions, which concerned not only Western weapons.
“I want to remind you that our developments also made it impossible to carry out strikes. Let’s just say that some leaders did not perceive this positively. And this is a fact. Not because someone is against you. But because, as they say, this is a policy of de-escalation. They are afraid of escalation from the Russian side,”
– said the Supreme Commander-in-Chief.
However, the situation is changing. The President noted that “no one raises the issue of strikes by Ukrainian weapons against Russia anymore”, and some countries have allowed their weapons to be used for strikes near the Ukrainian border.
“That is why today (strikes against Russia – Ed.) are still difficult to perceive, but we have started to receive some positive signals about the use of long-range weapons. This should also be pressed, because it is absolutely fair,”
– Zelensky stressed.
He also stressed the injustice of the situation:
“There is a point from which the missile is fired, and we understand where it comes from, and it is unfair that we cannot respond to where it came from.”
Western weapons and permits for their use
As is well known, the United States(and Germany after them) allow the use of weapons provided by them only for strikes on the border territories of Russia. This permission was granted by US President Joe Biden only at the end of May, and before that, strikes on Russian territory with US weapons were generally prohibited.
However, towards the end of June, unofficial statements were heard from the US side that the restrictions “do not apply to geography or a certain radius”. This means that Ukraine is allegedly able to strike at those facilities and territories from which attacks on Ukraine are directly directed, even if they are deeper than the border areas.
Experts say that border strikes will not change the situation at the front, so Zelenskyy is asking his partners for permission to use their weapons on Russian territory. Some Western countries have already given such permission.
A classic military strategy involves trying to move the fighting to the enemy’s territory as quickly as possible.
