Zelenskyi: Ukraine still has not received permission to strike with Western weapons deep into the Russian Federation. Meanwhile, Russia is moving planes further and further from the border

Ukraine is trying to convince the United States to allow it to strike with Western weapons deep into the Russian Federation in order to hit military bases and planes from where the Russian army launches missiles and aerial bombs. Whether European countries will adopt a similar decision depends on the decision of the States.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated this in an interview with CNN.

"Everyone is looking at the US decision. Everyone is waiting for such decisions. After that, they [Europe] make their own decisions, thatʼs true. And so we really wanted to use this weapon and just attack planes on military bases. Not civilian infrastructure, but military bases," the president emphasized.

He noted that the Russian aviation used 4,000 guided aerial bombs every month in the east alone. According to him, the Russian Federation destroyed 80% of the Ukrainian energy infrastructure with guided bombs.

Zelensky said that while Ukraine was waiting for permission from its partners for long-range strikes, Russia began to move its warplanes farther and farther from the border.

"We waited too long, now Russia has started to withdraw its planes from 100 kilometers, 150 kilometers, 300 — to 500 kilometers. Now we need more permits," Zelensky emphasized.

Ban on attacks of Ukraine deep into Russia with Western weapons

Back in the spring of this year, Ukraine received permission from the United States and a number of European countries to strike Russia with their weapons. Along the border, but not deep into the territory of the Russian Federation.

Ukraine has long been asking its allies to allow their weapons to be used for long-range strikes deep into Russia. For such purposes, Ukraineʼs arsenal includes, in particular, American ATACMS surface-to-surface long-range missiles and British Storm Shadow long-range missiles.

However, neither the USA nor Britain has yet given Ukraine permission to use their weapons for attacks deep into the Russian Federation. The US fears a possible escalation against the background of this decision. They also believe that lifting restrictions on long-range strikes will have no strategic significance in the war, because Russia has moved its most important targets, including aircraft, away from the border and made them inaccessible for strikes.

At the same time, Great Britain cannot allow such strikes to Ukraine due to resistance from the United States.

Politico also wrote that the US is not lifting restrictions on long-range strikes against the Russian Federation in order to be able to improve relations with Moscow in the future.

However, this week the question of lifting this ban was raised during the visit to Kyiv of the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and the head of the British Foreign Ministry David Lammy.

• On September 14, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that Germany will not allow Ukraine to strike with its weapons deep into Russia, even if such permission is given by other allies.