Ukraine to provide US with list of targets in Russia, to be struck by American weapons, UNIAN agency reported, citing information from Politico.
According to Politico, Ukraine is using the list as a last-ditch effort to convince Washington to lift restrictions on the use of American weapons in Russia. Although Ukraine has previously provided the US with some of its potential targets in Russia, this list needs to be more detailed.
Ukraine wants to attack military targets deep inside Russian territory, but until now there is a ban from Western countries on such strikes. NATO fears that this could lead to an escalation of the war.
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Chief of Staff Andriy Yermak will be in Washington this week and plan to present the list to the Joe Biden administration during talks, sources familiar with the matter said.
Kiev has identified several important targets it can hit with the US-supplied missiles, the sources said. Ukraine hopes the list will boost its campaign to persuade President Joe Biden to change his position.
„For Ukraine, there should be no restrictions on the range of weapons, as terrorists do not have such restrictions,” Zelensky said on Monday. On August 26, Russia carried out its most massive attack since the first day of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, launching hundreds of missiles and drones against Ukrainian infrastructure.
Ukrainian officials have long lobbied the Biden administration to lift restrictions on U.S. weapons so that the Ukrainian military can more easily launch offensives into Russia and push Russian forces back from the border. Since the start of the war, the administration in Washington has said it fears escalation over such a decision.