Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukraine cannot win the war with Russia unless restrictions are lifted on the use of U.S. weapons to attack targets inside Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Thursday embraced the support of allies who have provided substantial new military aid and a path to joining NATO, even as he emphatically pushed for the help to arrive faster and for restrictions to be lifted on the use of U.S. weapons to attack military targets inside Russia.
„If we want to win, if we want to prevail, if we want to save our country and to defend it, we need to lift all the limitations“, Zelenskyy said alongside NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg in the final hours of a summit that saw Ukraine receive fresh commitments of weapons and other support to firm up its defense against Russia.
The summit unfolded against the backdrop of a tumultuous American political cycle, with mounting angst among Democrats about President Joe Biden’s ability to serve another four years following a shocking debate flop two weeks ago that threw the future of his presidency into doubt.
An untimely verbal flub Thursday evening did little to soothe concerns, when Biden at an event for the unveiling of an agreement called the Ukraine Compact mistakenly introduced Zelenskyy as Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Some in the room gasped at Biden’s gaffe, which the U.S. president quickly sought to clean up by saying, „President Putin? You’re going to beat President Putin“, Biden said to Zelenskyy. „I’m so focused on beating Putin, we got to worry about it.“
New British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron declined to criticize Biden. Macron said „we can all have a slip of the tongue“ and said Biden, with whom he spoke during Wednesday’s dinner, „is very much on top of things.“ And Starmer declined at least five times to answer directly about Biden’s gaffe, instead praising him for his leadership and his preparation in putting the event together and securing solid outcomes for Ukraine.
