Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy renewed his plea for western nations to supply Ukraine with more powerful weapons, including the army’s tactical missile system known as ATACMS, to help Kyiv repel Russian attacks from distant locations. “Supplies of arms to protect against Russian terror must not be taboo,” Zelenskyy said in his nightly speech.
Kyiv has long argued that it needs US-made weapons to hit Russian targets in places like Crimea – which have been used to launch rocket and drone strikes on Ukrainian cities to devastating effect. Washington has so far resisted Kyiv’s calls over concerns that providing a weapon that Ukraine can use to hit targets inside Russia could escalate the nearly year-long conflict.
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4. From our correspondents
It was Secretary of State Antony Blinken who suggested the possible workaround, write Karen DeYoung, Dan Lamothe and Loveday Morris. What if they announced a commitment to supply M1s – something Scholz insisted on if Germany were to supply its own main battle tanks – but at a later date as part of Kiev’s long-term needs? It could provide Scholz with the cover he was looking for, allowing the Leopards to deploy immediately. At the same time, it would give the Pentagon time to address concerns about training and logistics.