Russia Missile Attack Shows US Must Drop Arms Restrictions: Ukraine

Zelenskyy said he had demonstrated that limits on Western-supplied weapons must be dropped.

Ukraine is pushing to use Storm Shadow/SCALP and ATACMS missiles in Russia.

Several of Ukraine’s international partners softened their stance in May, saying Ukraine could use some weapons to pursue military targets on Russian soil. For the likes of the US, UK and France, that didn’t include long-range weapons on Russian soil.

Zelensky said Russian President Vladimir Putin “stays true to himself – he is a sick creature; this has long been clear to everyone. But it is also clear that he can only do what the world allows him to do.”

He said Ukrainians should not face arms restrictions when Russia uses what it wants, including missiles from North Korea.

“The United States, the United Kingdom, France and other partners have the power to help us stop terror. We need decisions”.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, made a similar request on Monday at X. He said actions other countries can take to help Ukraine include “affirming Ukraine’s long-range strikes on all legitimate military targets on the territory of Russia”.

Zelensky and other Ukrainian officials have long urged allies to drop restrictions on the use of weapons.

The rules mean that Ukraine cannot destroy the source of Russia’s attacks and instead must stop each attack individually, which is much more difficult.

In July, Zelensky said Ukraine must be able to destroy aircraft that drop devastating glide bombs on Ukraine, which Russia keeps largely within range of Ukraine’s shorter-range weapons.

Ukraine has manufactured some of its own long-range weapons to bridge the gap.

George Barros, a Russia analyst at the US Institute for the Study of War, told BI that Ukraine had to spend heavy resources to protect its power, infrastructure and weapons, while “the Russians absolutely must not really deal with any of that.”

He said Western policy “allows Russia to have a sanctuary” from which it can safely launch attacks on Ukraine.

ISW estimated earlier this month that at least 250 militarily significant targets in Russia were within range of Ukraine’s long-range US ATACMS missiles, but that current restrictions only allow Ukraine to hit 20 of those these targets.

Rajan Menon, a senior fellow at Columbia University’s Saltzman Institute for War and Peace Studies, told BI that without restrictions, “obviously the Ukrainians would be in a better position” and that he doesn’t think Russia’s sprawling military is in measure to escalate the conflict if the rules have changed.

The EU’s top diplomat said last week that allies should drop restrictions on Ukraine, saying it would “strengthen Ukraine’s self-defense by ending Russia’s sanctuary for its attacks and bombings of Ukrainian cities and infrastructure,” as well as to save lives and ” to help promote peace efforts. .”

Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, said the lifting of restrictions would not lead to escalation but would “deter Russia, help reduce terror and the number of Russian attacks and the resulting casualties. Act now, not later. Help us save lives. .”