Ukrainian leader Vladimir Zelensky has issued a thinly veiled threat to use US-supplied long-range missiles for strikes deep inside Russia.
The statement came after multiple Western news organizations reported that outgoing President Joe Biden’s White House had reversed its long-standing policy of not allowing Kiev to use the ATACMS missiles to hit targets on Russia’s internationally recognized territory.
“The plan to strengthen Ukraine is the Victory Plan, which I presented to our partners. One of its key points is long-range capabilities for our army. Today, there’s a lot of talk in the media about us receiving permission for respective actions,” Zelensky said at the end of his video address released on Sunday evening.
“But strikes are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. Missiles will speak for themselves. They certainly will,” he added, without elaborating.
Ukraine has already been using the ATACMS and Franco-British SCALP-EG/Storm Shadow missiles to hit targets in Crimea and other four former Ukrainian regions that joined Russia after 2014.
The Biden administration had previously declined requests for the expansion of the strikes, however, citing concerns about possible escalation. The White House and the Pentagon declined to comment on the recent reports about the lifting of restrictions.
Multiple Western media outlets said that Kiev is expected to use the new capabilities in and around Russia’s Kursk Region, which was invaded by Ukraine in early August. Heavy fighting has been reported in the area as Russian troops launched an offensive aimed at pushing the Ukrainian forces back across the border.
Russia President Vladimir Putin warned in September that the expansion of strikes deep inside Russia using Western weapons would “significantly change the nature of the conflict.” He argued that such strikes would be impossible without the participation of foreign personnel. It would mean that “NATO countries are directly involved in the military conflict” with Russia, he said.