RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Ukraine needs the ability to strike deep within Russia now, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told U.S. and allied military leaders Friday as Kyiv more fervently pressed the West to loosen weapons use restrictions and allow it to target Russian air bases and launch sites far from the border.
Zelenskyy made the case during an in-person meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany. He appeared to make inroads with some of the defense leaders from the 50-plus partner nations who regularly gather to coordinate weapons aid for the war.
His request comes after a series of recent deadly Russian airstrikes, including against a Ukrainian military training center that killed more than 50 and wounded hundreds this week. On Friday, the Kremlin fired five ballistic missiles at the city of Pavlohrad in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, injuring at least 50 people, regional Gov. Serhii Lysak said.
“We need to have this long-range capability, not only on the divided territory of Ukraine, but also on the Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Zelenskyy said. “We need to make Russian cities and even Russian soldiers think about what they need: peace or Putin.”
The question remained whether Zelenskyy could convince President Joe Biden that the U.S. should ease its restrictions as well. While Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-provided missiles into Russia in self-defense, the distance has been limited to largely cross-border operations deemed a direct threat, out of concerns about further escalating the conflict.
Meantime, Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin said the U.S. will provide $250 million more in weapons to Ukraine, including air defense munitions and artillery.
At the meeting Friday, multiple countries seemed to be persuaded that Ukraine should get the green light, which could add pressure on the Biden administration.
“Many countries (are) in favor,” said Lithuania’s defense minister, Laurynas Kasčiūnas. “Many, many. But the question is not the number of countries, but countries who give (those) missiles.”
By announcing Lithuania’s support, Kasčiūnas said, “I hope it will help to convince other countries.”
Canada’s defense minister, Bill Blair, said he hopes other Western allies also get behind the push. Canada does not have long-range munitions it could provide on its own, Blair said.
“One of the things President Zelenskyy and his ministers have made very clear to us is that they are suffering significant attacks from air bases and military installations located within Russia,” Blair said. “We support their request for permission, but it’s still a decision of our allies.”
Ukraine is now in the midst of its first offensive operations of the war while facing a significant threat from Russian forces near a key hub in the Donbas, and Kyiv is seeing that its time is running short to shore up ongoing military support before the U.S. presidential election in November.
Zelenskyy said Ukraine’s surprise assault inside Russia’s Kursk territory has led to the capture of about 800 miles of Russian territory and killed or injured about 6,000 Russian soldiers. But it has not drawn away President Vladimir Putin’s focus from taking the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, which provides critical rail and supply links for the Ukrainian army. Losing Pokrovsk could put additional Ukrainian cities at risk.
While Kursk has put Russia on the defensive, “we know Putin’s malice runs deep,” and Moscow is pressing on, especially around Pokrovsk, Austin said.
Zelenskyy also said promised weapons systems have been too slow to arrive.
