Zelenskiy Jabs at Allies Keeping Limits on Strikes Inside Russia

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy urged Ukraine’s allies to lift restrictions on the use of their weapons to strike inside Russia, saying his army’s two-week incursion into the neighboring country has called into question Vladimir Putin’s threats of retaliation.

Kyiv’s troops are in control of more than 1,250 square kilometers of Russian territory and will continue their gradual expansion in the Kursk region, Zelenskiy said at a meeting with Ukrainian diplomats on Monday, according to posts on his X account. The territorial claims on couldn’t be independently verified.

Russia has continued attacks elsewhere along the frontline, advancing slowly in the eastern Donetsk region, while it seeks to slow Ukraine’s advance into its territory. 

If western partners allowed Ukraine to use weapons to target airfields, military bases and logistics facilities deeper inside Russia, Kyiv’s army wouldn’t have had to enter the Kursk region to protect communities along the border, according to Zelenskiy. 

Russia’s military has repeatedly launched missiles, glide bombs and drones from the Kursk and neighboring Belgorod regions to strike Ukrainian cities including Kharkiv and Sumy that are close to their shared border. 

Ukraine’s capture of the swathe of border territory — the first foreign military offensive inside Russia since World War II — sent some 200,000 Russians fleeing their homes and put the Kremlin on the back foot. 

Ukraine kept quiet about its preparations to avoid push back from allies concerned about escalation, while the success of the operation showed Russia’s red lines were an illusion that “has crumbled apart,” he said. 

While the US and European Union were caught by surprise, they have largely endorsed the operation, even as they remained cautious about its prospects. 

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.