Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Monday that Ukraine’s Western allies should not only allow their weapons to be used for deep strikes inside Russia, but also provide Kiev with more of the same weapons.
Ukraine has long asked its partners to allow it to strike targets deep inside Russian territory with Western weapons, and the calls have continued as Russian airstrikes on Ukrainian energy facilities, other infrastructure and apartment buildings have intensified.
After meeting Monday 9/2 with Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoff in the southeastern Ukrainian city of Zaporizhia, Zelensky said Kiev was “more positive” about the prospects of getting such a permit.
“For today, only to allow – it is also not enough,” he said, noting that allies must ensure deliveries of weapons to be used for such strikes. “We didn’t get everything we wanted to use,” added Zelensky.
He said he had discussed with Shoff strengthening Ukraine’s air defenses and also said there were “some ideas” about how to increase the fleet of F-16 jets donated by allies, one of which was lost in a crash in Ukraine last week.
“We will continue to have anti-aircraft equipment and F-16s and funding for munitions,” Schoff said. He added that the Netherlands will provide Ukraine with approximately 200 million euros for the repair of energy infrastructure and for humanitarian aid.
The Netherlands will deliver refurbished gas turbines worth a total of 29.5 million euros and has allocated 45 million euros to repair energy infrastructure, the Dutch foreign ministry said in a statement.
The money comes from a 400 million euro aid fund promised by the Dutch government for Ukraine earlier this year.
Zelensky also commented on the situation on the front lines, saying that Ukraine’s cross-border incursion into Russia’s western Kursk region is proceeding “according to plan.”
The Ukrainian president added that his country believes the operation will help reduce pressure on the eastern Pokrovsk front, where Russia has accelerated its advance. So far, the situation there remains difficult, he noted.
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