Ukraine will not use weapons supplied by foreign partners to strike targets outside of the country’s borders, President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference on Feb. 24.
Ukraine has long been pleading to get long-range missiles from allies, including ATACMS and Taurus from the U.S. and Germany, respectively. Western partners have so far been reluctant to deliver the weapons that could be used to strike targets within Russia, reportedly out of the fear of potentially escalating the conflict.
Speaking on the two-year anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion, Zelensky said that Ukraine will use its own weapons on targets outside of Ukraine's occupied territories.
Zelensky also said that Ukraine needs additional air defense to protect civilians and soldiers.
On Feb. 19, NBC reported that the United States was prepared to provide Ukraine with newer long-range missiles that can strike targets up to 300 kilometers away if a new funding package was approved by Congress.
In October 2023, the U.S. delivered an older model of the Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS), which has a reduced range of 165 kilometers.
Zelensky's comments came a day after Ukraine reported that it had downed another Russian A-50 aircraft over the Azov Sea.
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