Zelensky fails to convince West to allow strikes on Russia
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been for months attempting to convince his Western allies to allow the use of their arms to strike Russian territory.
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy delivers his speech as he attends The European House Ambrosetti (TEHA) economic forum in Cernobbio, Como Lake, Italy, Friday, September 6, 2024 (AP)
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has been unsuccessful in his attempt to persuade Western allies to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range weapons to target deep inside Russian territory, according to a report by The Washington Post.
During a meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group held in Germany, Zelensky made his case to the attending nations, hoping for a shift in the current policies. Despite these efforts, the US has maintained its position, refusing to allow the use of American-supplied weapons for strikes beyond Ukraine's borders.
Earlier in the week, the White House reaffirmed that there would be no changes to its stance. This policy prohibits Ukraine from using US-made long-range weapons to carry out attacks deep within Russian territory. Washington has been clear that it is a red line for it despite providing Ukraine with weapons that could reach well into Russia.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said earlier that Ukraine had been given a carte blanche for military operations against Russia.
This came after Pentagon Deputy Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said that Ukraine has full liberty to utilize US weapons against Russia throughout the Kursk invasion, at the US' discretion. Earlier on Monday, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby also revealed that Ukraine and the US continue engaging in private discussions regarding the use of US weapons against Russian territories
Escalating western stances
"Extremely serious conclusions follow from all this. Ukraine has been given complete carte blanche for operations in Russian regions," Zakharova said in light of the statements.
She further added that the Biden administration was making "new concessions" to Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky and giving him absolute freedom to use US-supplied weapons against Russia, including deep into Russian territories.
Zakharova concluded her statement by slamming the US escalation as "provocative".
Moreover, the Canadian Department of National Defense said Ukraine could make use of the tanks and armored vehicles that Canada has supplied within Russia.
Andree-Anne Poulin, a spokesperson for the defense department, was cited by CBC News as saying: "Canada places no geographic restrictions on the use of military equipment that we donate to Ukraine," adding that it remains unknown how much of the provided equipment from Canada was utilized by Ukrainian forces during the border assault in Russia's Kursk Region on August 6.
Attack on Kursk
The attack on the Kursk Region by Ukraine was allegedly planned with assistance from NATO and Western intelligence services, according to Russian presidential advisor Nikolai Patrushev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin declared that Ukraine had fired randomly at civilian targets in yet another major act of provocation in Kursk. In the Russian border territories, the enemy will face a fitting response, according to Putin.
This comes a day after the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Russia's armed forces have regained control over the Krupets village in the border region of Kursk, amid a 10-day-long Ukrainian incursion into the region.
On the opposite front, Russia said that it took control of a village 16 km from Donetsk's city of Pokrovsk, to the east of Ukraine, which sits in parallel to a major Ukrainian armed forces supply line.
Analysts believed that the incursion into Kursk would see the diversion of Russian troops from several axes of advancement into Ukraine.
The Russian ministry stated that its forces had gained control of several areas in Kharkiv, Lugansk, and Donetsk.
