Ukraine’s Vladimir Zelensky has claimed that several Western countries have given Kiev permission to use their long-range missiles against internationally-recognized Russian territory.
The New York Times reported on Sunday that US President Joe Biden had lifted some restrictions on the use of US-provided ATACMS missiles. The White House has neither confirmed nor denied the NYT article, which cited anonymous officials.
“Now that there are relevant decisions, not just in the media, but also from the relevant countries, it is very important to add to these decisions the number of opportunities with which we can reduce the military potential of the Russian Federation, wherever it is,” Zelensky said on Tuesday at a press-conference in Kiev.
Speaking alongside Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen, Zelensky added that Ukraine is now “working to ensure that all countries support long-range capabilities,” urging Germany in particular to “take the appropriate decision” as well.
The UK and France have also reportedly lifted restrictions on the use of the long-range missiles they have provided to Kiev, although they haven’t confirmed the move either. Germany and Italy have publicly said their policy remained unchanged, however, and that their weapons can only be used on Ukrainian soil.
At least six long-range ATACMS missiles were fired into Russia’s Bryansk Region overnight, Moscow’s Defense Ministry reported on Tuesday. Five of them were shot down, while debris from one reportedly caused a localized fire at a military base, causing no property damage.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned that long-range strikes with Western weapons would change the nature of the Russia-Ukraine conflict, making it a direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow.
On Tuesday, Russia officially updated its nuclear deterrence doctrine to authorize an atomic response to conventional attacks from countries backed by nuclear powers. This has been widely interpreted as applying to Ukrainian strikes with weapons supplied by the US, UK and France.