Ukrainian Ambassador to the United States Oksana Markarova said on CBS that Ukraine urgently needs as much weaponry as possible and must receive it as quickly as possible, according to Politico.
“There is no such thing as fast enough when we are up against such a bad enemy, and we have to catch up for a long pause,” Markarova said, adding that this needs to happen faster.
The ambassador, who recently returned from a trip to Ukraine, said that the country needs more air defense systems to respond to the intensifying strikes on Ukrainian communities.
“We’re very grateful to those who are providing us with their systems. We’re grateful to the US for looking for them, allowing them, funding some of them, but we need more and it’s time to literally take some brave decisions and provide us with more of this so we can see them right away, where we need them,” Markarova said.
She also emphasized that Ukraine insists on being allowed to strike targets on Russian territory with American-made weapons.
“We are defending ourselves. Whether we are striking Russian troops on our territory or Russian troops outside of our territory. And we have been trying to do that. But of course there were some restrictions. Now I will not go publicly into discussions — where we are on discussions with either US or any of our other partners. But I just want to say that it’s clear that Russia is an aggressor here,” the diplomat said.
Strikes on Russian territory
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the US has prohibited Ukraine from striking Russian territory with American weapons.
Recently, the Institute for the Study of War concluded that if not for this ban, the new Russian offensive in northern Kharkiv region would not have been as successful. Analysts believe that US restrictions on Ukraine’s ability to strike military targets in Russia have created shelters in Russian border areas from which Russian aviation can launch guided bomb and missile strikes on Ukrainian positions and settlements.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that the ability to use Western weapons on Russian territory is not an offensive but a defense of Ukrainians.
The Pentagon said that American weapons are intended for use on Ukrainian territory only.
On Saturday, May 18, The Wall Street Journal wrote that Ukraine had approached the administration of US President Joe Biden with a request to lift the restrictions. Sources told journalists that the request, made last week, is currently under review.
