Chief of the Office of the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi said that the use of Western weapons for strikes inside Russia was an important decision that could affect Russia's tactical aviation and its ability to operate in border areas, Reuters reported, quoted by BTA.
Last week, the US agreed to change its position and allow Ukrainian forces to use Western weapons to strike military targets inside Russia.
According to Kiev, the decision will help repel the Russian advance and facilitate defense in the Kharkiv region.
„The permission to use Western weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation is an important decision”, Andriy Yermak, the head of the office of the Ukrainian president, wrote today in the application “Telegram”.
„This will affect the conduct of the war, the planning of counteroffensive actions and will weaken the Russians' ability to use their forces in the border areas. The decision will help to better repel Russian airstrikes, Ermak said.
Ukraine frequently strikes occupied Crimea, which Russia illegally annexed in 2014, with Western weapons. Kiev has asked Washington to allow it to strike targets on Russian soil with US-made weapons as Moscow opens a new front in the northeastern Kharkiv region, Reuters reports.
Kharkov is the second largest city in the country with a population of about 1.3 million people and is located only about 30 kilometers from the Russian border. Representatives of the US administration claim that the latest decision is closely related to the battle in the Kharkiv region. They say it allows Kiev to use US-supplied weapons to fire back at Russian forces that are “attacking or preparing to attack them” on the other side of the border.
Ukraine is also trying to develop its own weapons, mainly with an emphasis on drones, to strike targets on Russian territory. Ukrainian drones hit Russian oil facilities and military targets hundreds of kilometers from the border, Reuters notes.