Constant dripping wears away the stone: The Ukrainian president tirelessly demands permission to use heavy weapons against military targets in Russia.
Kiev – After the recent Russian airstrike on the eastern city of Kharkiv, which left one person dead and 42 injured, the Ukrainian government has again asked for a free hand in possible counterattacks. “This terror can only be fought with a systemic solution, which would be a long-range solution,” said President Volodymyr Zelensky in his evening video address – by which he means permission to use long-range weapons against targets deep on Russian territory.
Destroying Russian military aircraft where they are stationed is an “obvious, logical solution,” said Zelensky. His country’s partners have already been told several times why the Ukrainian armed forces need sufficient range for their weapons.
“Every such Russian attack, every manifestation of Russian terror, like today against Kharkiv, against our Sumy region, against our Donetsk region, proves that the scope must be sufficient,” said Zelensky. Ukraine expects appropriate decisions primarily from the United States, Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy – “from all those who can help save lives with their determination.”
Ukraine’s allies have so far refused to allow Kiev to use long-range heavy weapons supplied by them against targets in Russia. Instead, Ukraine uses drones of its own production, which, however, have only a low explosive power. Moscow recently threatened that it would view such use of heavy weapons as NATO’s involvement in the war against Russia.
Selenskyj complains about weapons shortage
According to Zelensky, Ukraine no longer has enough weapons to fully equip its troops. “We need to equip 14 brigades, but we can only equip four brigades with the weapons delivered so far,” Zelensky said in an interview with the well-known US journalist Fareed Zakaria. Parts of the interview were published on the Telegram platform and in Ukrainian media. Zelensky attributed the lack of materials to slow deliveries.
Especially during the period when US arms deliveries were blocked for months in Congress in Washington at the beginning of the year, Ukraine used up all its reserves, Zelensky continued. “We gave everything we had in reserve, both in depots and in reserve units,” he explained. “We gave out all the weapons they still had.” But now these reserve units need to be upgraded, the Ukrainian president stressed.
Zelenskyj has recently pointed out several times that promised arms aid from allies is often delivered with great delays. This makes warfare more difficult, especially in the defense of heavily contested regions in eastern Ukraine.
Selenskyj wants to present victory plan in Washington
In the interview, Zelensky also announced that he would soon present a victory plan in Washington. “I have prepared several points, four of which are fundamental,” he said. They concern security, Ukraine’s geopolitical position, and military and economic support for his country. He did not go into further detail.
The implementation of these points, stressed Zelensky, depends exclusively on US President Joe Biden, and not at all on Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin. An exact date for Zelensky’s visit to Washington has not been set, but is expected around the time of the UN General Assembly at the end of September.
Heavy fighting continues
Meanwhile, Ukrainian troops are continuing to engage in heavy fighting with Russian units in the western Russian region of Kursk. According to reports from the state agency Tass, Russian troops made minor gains in territory during their counteroffensive. “We are continuing our active operations,” said Zelenskyy about the situation on this front.
In eastern Ukraine, Russian troops continued their attacks on Ukrainian positions around the Donbass with undiminished intensity. The General Staff in Kiev reported 23 Russian assaults near Pokrovsk during the day, and 27 attacks were repelled near Kurachowe. The information could not be independently verified. dpa
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