Zelensky wants long-range weapons to attack Russia: “We want Russian soldiers to think about whether they want peace or Putin.” But the United States rejects this and says it will not be a panacea to resolve the war.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Friday expressed his commitment to persuading Western allies to authorise him to use long-range weapons to attack Russia. “We want to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they want: peace or Putin,” the Ukrainian leader argued, noting that this could bring Moscow to the negotiating table.
However, Volodymyr Zelensky’s arguments did not convince Germans and Americans.who spoke during a meeting with representatives of countries supporting Ukraine at the US air base in Ramstein, western Germany. Although Washington and Berlin have given their approval to attack targets on Russian soil with some of their weapons under certain conditions, They still have doubts about the generalization of this support for fear of an escalation with Moscow, which periodically threatens with its nuclear potential.
In this regard, at a press conference, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin ruled out the possibility that the US would expressly authorize Ukraine to use the long-range weapons it sends to attack targets in Russian territory.
“We have had this discussion before about tanks and other capabilities. Each time we have emphasized that it is not about one thing, but rather the combination of capabilities and the way they are integrated,” “There is no single capability that can be decisive in the campaign,” the official said, adding.
According to the American official, Ukraine has “not done badly” since the start of the war, which began in February 2022, which is largely justified by Western military support. Other arguments cited by Lloyd Austin were the fact that Russia has already placed the fighters it uses to bomb Ukraine out of range of long-range weapons, such as the American ATACMS.
“Obviously, there are a lot of targets in Russia, and Ukraine has a lot of capabilities in terms of drones, etc., to attack those targets,” the Secretary of Defense noted, reiterating that “for the foreseeable future, the United States will remain focused” on helping Ukraine effectively defend its sovereign territory.
Despite this American ‘negation’, the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, also announced on Friday an additional aid of 250 million dollars (about 225 million euros) for anti-aircraft systems, armored vehicles, anti-tank weapons and ammunition for rocket and artillery systems.
Volodymyr Zelensky did not seem to give up and insisted on this idea at the Cernobbio Forum (northern Italy), even after Lloyd Austin’s rejection. “We want to use long-range weapons against Russian military bases. We are not trying to attack civilians. We have never attacked civilian infrastructure,” the Ukrainian president promised.
Source: Observadora
