CNN
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CNN that Ukraine’s request to use long-range missiles against targets inside Russia is part of a “victory plan” he plans to present to US officials next week.
Zelenskiy has called on Ukraine’s allies to ease arms restrictions and said there were signs the U.S. stance was changing but that approval had not yet been given.
“We have long-range weapons, but let’s just say that we don’t have them in the quantities we need,” Zelenskiy said on Friday, adding that “neither the United States nor the UK have given us permission to use these weapons on Russian territory.”
Speaking to reporters, Zelenskiy blamed allies’ hesitancy to approve the use of nuclear weapons on fears of escalation.
“There are a variety of factors, somebody is talking about something, somebody is negotiating with somebody, for somebody it is certainly an escalation. I think Biden has actually received information today from his aides that there may be an escalation, but – and this is important – not all of his aides think that. And it’s to his credit that not all of his aides think that,” Zelensky said.
The Ukrainian leader said he expected his case to be heard next week.
“Over the history of our relationship with Biden, we’ve made some decisions and had some very interesting and difficult conversations and he later changed his mind,” he said.
Zelensky added that he plans to meet with Biden as well as Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee.
“I want to know what she thinks about this victory plan. As I said, this plan doesn’t just include what is needed from Biden right now. It also includes the fact that things will change after November, meaning the United States will have a new president. And we need to talk about what each candidate thinks about that,” he said.
He added that he would “absolutely” meet with former President Donald Trump, who in a recent debate refused to say whether he wanted Ukraine to win the war.
President Zelenskyy is due to visit the United States next week to attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Trump is expected to visit an ammunition plant in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Sunday that produces key weapons for the U.S. to use in its fight against Russia, according to a source familiar with the plans.
Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant, which makes 155mm artillery shells used in Ukraine’s war effort, plans that were first reported by the Associated Press.
CNN reached out to the Ukrainian government for comment, but the government would not disclose his travel plans, citing security reasons.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities said on Saturday they had attacked two munitions facilities in Russia’s Krasnodar and Tver regions as part of continuing efforts to undermine Russian military infrastructure.
The Ukrainian General Staff said on Saturday that the Tikhoretsk arsenal in Russia’s Krasnodar Krai was targeted overnight in a joint operation with the SBU, claiming that the facility is “one of the occupying forces’ three largest ammunition storage bases and one of the key facilities in the Russian armed forces’ logistics system.”
Krasnodar Governor Veniamin Kondratyev acknowledged what he called a “terrorist attack by the Kiev regime” in a Telegram post, but did not say that an ammunition depot was hit. He said two drones were intercepted and that debris fell, starting fires and forcing the temporary evacuation of nearby settlements.
A second facility believed to be storing Iskander and Tochka-U tactical missile systems also came under attack overnight, further inside Russia, near the village of Oktyabrsky in the Tver Oblast, a Ukrainian security source familiar with the situation told CNN on Saturday.
“The SBU, together with the entire Armed Forces of Ukraine, is systematically reducing the enemy’s missile and artillery capabilities,” the source said.
Ukraine claimed on Wednesday it had destroyed a large Russian munitions depot in Russia’s western Tver region.
“Today it was one of the enemy’s key logistics facilities where ammunition for attacks on Ukraine was stored, and the second largest munitions depot,” the source said, adding on Saturday.
CNN could not verify Ukraine’s claim, and Russian officials have not commented on the overnight attack on the munitions depot.