Kyiv says Russian has been hitting Ukrainian cities from airfields that are within range of long-range attacks provided by allies.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky increased pressure on the United States to let Kyiv strike military targets deep inside Russian territory after his representatives met senior US officials in Washington on Saturday.
Washington has provided Ukraine with more than US$50 billion worth of military aid since 2022, but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and defensive cross-border operations.
Zelensky said guided aerial bombs killed six people and injured 97 in Kharkiv on Friday, with more attacks on Saturday. These could be averted only “by striking Russian military airfields, their bases, and the logistics of Russian terror”.
In his nightly video address, he said, “We talk about this every day with our partners. We persuade. We present arguments.”
He said that clearing the Ukrainian sky of Russian guided aerial bombs would be “a strong step to force Russia to seek an end to the war and a just peace”.
