RAMSTEIN AIR BASE, Germany (AP) — Ukraine now needs the ability to strike deep into Russia, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy told U.S. and allied military leaders on Friday, as Kiev presses more hard for Western countries to ease arms restrictions and allow it to attack Russian air bases and launch facilities far from its borders.
Zelensky made the claim during a face-to-face meeting with the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group at Ramstein Air Base in Germany, appearing to reach a compromise with some of the defense leaders of more than 50 partner nations who regularly meet to coordinate arms support for the war effort.
His request came after a series of recent deadly Russian airstrikes, including one on a Ukrainian military training center this week that killed more than 50 people and wounded hundreds. On Friday, the Kremlin fired five ballistic missiles at the city of Pavlovrad in the eastern Dnipropetrovsk region, wounding at least 50 people, the region’s governor, Serhiy Lysak, said.
“We need to have this long-range capability not only in the divided territories of Ukraine, but also on Russian territory, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Zelenskiy said. “We need to make Russian cities, and even Russian soldiers, think about what they need: peace or Putin.”
The question is whether Zelenskiy can convince President Joe Biden that the U.S. should also ease restrictions. Biden has allowed Ukraine to fire U.S.-supplied missiles at Russia in self-defense but has limited the range largely to cross-border targets deemed a direct threat, fearing a further escalation of the conflict.
U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said at a meeting of the Ukraine Defence Liaison Group that Ukraine is taking the initiative in the Kursk region and that this is a dynamic moment in the fight between Ukraine and Russia.
Meanwhile, Pentagon Secretary Lloyd Austin said the US would provide Ukraine with an additional $250 million worth of weapons, including air defence weapons and artillery.
Friday’s meeting appeared to convince several countries that recognition should be granted to Ukraine, potentially increasing pressure on the Biden administration.
“Many countries are in favor,” Lithuania’s Defense Minister Laurinas Kasciunas said. “A great many countries are in favor. But the issue is not the number of countries, it’s the countries that provide the missiles.”
Kaščiunas said he hoped that expressing Lithuania’s support “will help persuade other countries.”
Canadian Defence Minister Bill Blair said he hoped other Western allies would join the effort. Canada does not have any long-range weapons it can supply on its own, Blair said.
“One of the things that President Zelensky and his cabinet have made very clear to us is that they are under significant attack from air bases and military facilities inside Russia,” Blair said. “We support their request for authorization, but it remains an ally decision.”
Ukraine is now The first offensive operation of the war Meanwhile, Kiev faces significant threats from Russian forces near its key bases in the Donbas region and feels time is running out to shore up continued military support before the U.S. presidential elections in November.
Zelensky is the Ukrainian Surprise attack in Russia’s Kursk region The attack resulted in the capture of about 1,300 square kilometers (500 square miles) of Russian territory and the death or wounding of about 6,000 Russian soldiers. But Putin’s focus was on the The Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk is occupiedIt provides vital rail and supply routes for the Ukrainian military, and losing Pokrovsk could put other Ukrainian cities at risk.
While Russia is on the defensive in Kursk, “we know Putin’s intentions run deep,” and Russia is applying pressure, particularly around Pokrovsk, Austin said.
Zelensky also said promised weapons systems were arriving too late.
“The number of air defense systems yet to be delivered is huge,” Zelensky said.
German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the systems, particularly the Patriot air defense systems, needed to be in Ukrainian hands to protect Ukraine’s power grid and infrastructure during the winter fighting.
The meeting aimed to focus on consolidating benefits from air defense and artillery resources, as well as the expansion of Ukraine’s own defense industrial base, to put the country on a stronger footing as Biden’s term in office draws to a close.
Austin said Western countries were working with Ukraine to procure replacement missiles for the Soviet-era S-300 air defense systems.
The United States is also focusing on procuring a variety of air-to-surface missiles. Newly delivered F-16 fighter jets Bill LaPlante, the Pentagon’s top arms purchasing officer, told reporters accompanying Austin that the Pentagon is preparing missiles it can carry, including the Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, which could give Ukraine a long-range cruise missile option.
LaPlante said no decisions have been made about the weapons, noting that policymakers still must decide whether to give Ukraine a long-range missile capability.
“I think JASSM falls into that category. It’s something that’s always on the table,” LaPlante said. “Any air-to-ground weapon is always on the table.”
Over the past two years, members of the Ukrainian Defense Liaison Group have met to meet Ukraine’s artillery and air defense needs, ranging from hundreds of millions of small arms ammunition to some of the West’s most advanced air defense systems and now fighter jets. This month’s request was similar, but came directly from President Zelenskyy.
Member states have provided a combined total of about $106 billion in security assistance to Ukraine since 2022, of which the United States has provided more than $56 billion.
The German government said Chancellor Olaf Scholz was due to meet with Zelenskiy in Frankfurt later on Friday.
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Associated Press writer Ilya Novikov in Kyiv, Ukraine, contributed to this report.
