Ukraine pushes for US approval to target Russian territories

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy increased pressure on the United States to let Kiev strike deeper into Russian territory after his representatives met senior US officials in Washington on Saturday.

Washington has provided Ukraine with more than $50 billion worth of military aid since 2022 but has limited the use of its weapons to Ukrainian soil and defensive cross-border operations.

"Clearing the Ukrainian sky of Russian guided aerial bombs is a strong step to force Russia to seek an end to the war and a just peace," Zelenskyy said in his nightly video address.

Appealing to the United States, Britain, France and Germany, he said, "We need the capabilities to truly and fully protect Ukraine and Ukrainians.

"We need both the permissions for long-range capabilities and your long-range shells and missiles."

Without providing specifics, he said his representatives had "provided all the necessary details" to Ukraine's partners.

US aid

Ukrainian Defence Minister Rustem Umerov, in Washington with a delegation on Friday and Saturday to meet US officials and experts, said in an interview broadcast by CNN that Kiev was showing Russian airfields used to hit Ukrainian cities were within range of deep strikes.

"We have explained what kind of capabilities we need to protect the citizens against the Russian terror that Russians are causing us, so I hope we were heard," Umerov said in the interview late on Friday.

Zelenskyy is expected to deliver a similar plea in person next month when he will present a plan for victory to President Joe Biden near the end of his time in the Oval Office, and attend United Nations General Assembly meetings in New York.

Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko, who headed Kiev's delegation, said in a post on X that she had discussed the steps needed to restore Ukraine's energy system, including a "significant contribution" being made by an $800 million energy sector financing package that was announced in June.

Russian air strikes have affected more than half of Ukraine's power infrastructure, she said.

The president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak joined Umerov in briefing US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about the situation on the battlefield in the first meeting of their visit on Friday, the presidential office said in a statement.

Speaking at the end of a week when Russia hit Ukraine with more than 400 missiles and drones, Yermak said it was important for Ukraine to receive weapons from existing defence packages as soon as possible, the office said.