Ukraine strikes long-range with own weapons without coordinating with US, Zelensky says
Ukraine uses domestically produced weapons to carry out long-range strikes against Russia and does not coordinate such targets with the U.S., President Volodymyr Zelensky said at a press conference during Ukraine’s Independence Day on Aug. 24.
Zelensky’s statement follows a recent report by the Wall Street Journal saying that the U.S. has quietly implemented a review process giving Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authority to bar Ukrainian long-range strikes inside Russia with American missiles, effectively blocking strikes for months.
An unnamed official told WSJ that the unannounced high-level Defense Department approval process has prevented the use of Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMS) against targets inside Russia since late spring.
At a press conference with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney on Aug. 24, Zelensky said no such restrictions were being discussed, noting that Ukraine strikes targets inside Russia using domestically produced weapons.
"At the moment, we are using our long-range domestically produced weapons, and we haven’t been discussing such matters with the U.S. lately. There was a time when there were different signals regarding our retaliatory strikes after their (Russian) attacks on our energy system," Zelensky said.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Aug. 21 said that Ukraine had "no chance of winning" if not permitted to attack Russia and criticized former U.S. President Joe Biden for not letting Kyiv "fight back, only defend."
Despite this, Trump has previously said he disagreed "very vehemently" with the previous White House administration's decision to permit Ukrainian long-range strikes against Russia with U.S. weapons.
Earlier, on Aug. 20, Zelensky announced that Ukraine plans to begin mass production of its domestically developed long-range Flamingo cruise missile this winter.
Having its own long-range missile capabilities could be a game-changer for Ukraine in its efforts to undermine Russia's war machine deep behind enemy lines.
Zelensky said that Flamingo had undergone successful tests, describing it as "the most successful" missile Ukraine currently has. The Flamingo missile is capable of flying up to 3,000 kilometers (1,864 miles), he claimed.
"By December, we’ll have more of them. And by the end of December or in January–February, mass production should begin," the president said.
