President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorating Ukrainian soldiers of the Territorial Defense Forces on the Territorial Defense Day of Ukraine in Kyiv on Oct. 7, 2024. (Oleg Palchyk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)
THE KYIV INDEPENDENT | Published November 19, 2024
President Volodymyr Zelensky commented on Nov. 17 on recent reports that the U.S. eased restrictions on long-range strikes within Russia, saying that “such things are not announced.”
The president made the statement shortly after the New York Times reported that the Biden administration had permitted the use of U.S.-supplied ATACMS missiles across the border, namely against Russian and North Korean forces amassing in Russia’s Kursk Oblast.
The report has not been publicly confirmed by Washington or Kyiv.
“Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
“But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves.”
The decision would come as a major shift in U.S. policy as President Joe Biden has been long adamant about not allowing Western-supplied weapons to be used on Russian soil, fearing an escalation.
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SOURCE: www.kyivindependent.com
RELATED: ‘Push Russia harder’ Zelensky urges allies on war’s 1,000th day
President Zelensky addressed a special session of the European Parliament
BBC NEWS | Published November 19, 2024
Ukraine’s President Zelensky urged Europe to “push Russia harder” in a speech marking 1,000 days since Vladimir Putin launched a full-scale invasion of the country.
“The more time he [Putin] has, the worse the conditions become,” he told a special session of the European Parliament on Tuesday.
Zelensky spoke amid speculation that Ukraine had for the first time used the US-supplied Atacams long range missile system to hit a target deep inside Russia, a day after Washington signalled its permission.
An ammunition warehouse was struck with the missiles in the Russian region of Bryansk, about 100 kilometres from the border, an unconfirmed report on the RBC Ukraine news website said.
But Kyiv often uses domestic drones to hit targets inside Russia, and there was no immediate evidence that US missiles were used.
On Monday, US officials said that President Biden had removed US sanctions on the use of the Atacms system outside of Ukraine’s borders.
It is thought that Ukraine was given permission to use the missiles only to defend its forces inside Russia’s Kursk region, where Kyiv launched a surprise incursion in August and where an assault from Russian and North Korean troops was expected within days.
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