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Zelensky on strikes inside Russia: 'It works, just as we expected'

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Zelensky on strikes inside Russia: 'It works, just as we expected'
Zelensky meets EU officials on Nov. 21, 2023. (Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)

President Volodymyr Zelensky has hailed the success of strikes inside Russia with Western-supplied weapons, saying the ability to hit "Russian terrorists' positions and launchers near the border… truly matters."

"It works. Just as we expected," he added during his daily address on June 18.

In May, the U.S. allowed Ukraine to use HIMARS multiple rocket launchers, GMLRS rockets, and artillery against Russian territory near Kharkiv and Sumy oblasts.

"We see how the world's commitment opens up new prospects for restoring our security," Zelensky said

Washington however still prohibits Ukraine from using ATACMS and other long-range U.S.-supplied weapons for strikes deeper inside Russia.

Zelensky on June 2 said the U.S. should also lift the ban on long-range strikes in order to protect lives, arguing that airfields deep inside Russia are used to launch strikes on Ukraine.

Speaking a few days later, U.S. President Joe Biden told ABC News that Washington was not authorizing Kyiv to carry out long-range strikes with U.S.-supplied weapons on locations far from the border with Ukraine, such as Moscow.

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Chris York

News Operations Editor

Chris York is news operations editor at the Kyiv Independent. Before joining the team, he was head of news at the Kyiv Post. Previously, back in Britain, he spent nearly a decade working for HuffPost UK. He holds an MA in Conflict, Development, and Security from the University of Leeds.

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