UKRAINE, Jul 18 —The President of Ukraine called on international partners to lift restrictions on the use of Western weapons and strengthen Ukrainian air defense. He added that the Russian offensive on Kharkiv had been stopped because Ukraine had managed to attract “unquestioning support” from its partners, Volodymyr Zelenskyy said this during the 4th European Political Community Summit.

Different allies started to allow Ukraine to strike military targets deep inside Russia in May 2024, when Russia launched a ground assault north of the Kharkiv region. Back then, America approved short-range attacks to defend the Kharkiv region, and then the entire state’s border. 

According to Zelenskyy, Putin sacrificed tens of thousands of his citizens in the Kharkiv region but achieved nothing significant. The Ukrainian army stopped the offensive. According to the President, it became possible due to the bravery of the military and partners who lifted restrictions on the use of Western weapons along the Ukrainian border.

“We can bring this war to a just conclusion with the power of our weapons and our diplomacy, and we should not be afraid of these capabilities. The more effective our air defense is, the more helpless Putin will be. The fewer restrictions we have on using effective weapons, the more Russia will seek peace,” Zelenskyy said.

Russian planes with bombs take off from military airfields to attack Ukrainian cities, and such launch sites must be destroyed, said the President. This will reduce Russia’s ability to continue the war. Missiles and drones are not “carriers of state sovereignty,” so collective will is needed to shoot them down, he said.

Zelenskyy called on the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Poland to authorize the use of their weapons against Russia, as “the lives of Ukrainians” depend on this decision.

Ukrainian troops have stabilized the frontline north of Kharkiv, but heavy battles are still ongoing in and around Vovchansk (three miles from the border, 46 miles away from Kharkiv) and near Lyptsi (six miles from the border, 12 miles from Kharkiv.)

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  • Pentagon spokesman Major General Pat Ryder explained that the United States doesn’t allow Ukraine to strike deep into Russia with American weapons because they could have unpredictable consequences in terms of escalation in an interview with Voice of America.