Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West on Friday to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons to expedite an end to the war with Russia and compel Moscow to seek peace, according to the presidency.
Zelensky spoke at the opening of the 20th Annual Yalta European Strategy Meeting where he emphasized the importance of deploying Western-provided weapons against Russian positions to counteract intense airstrikes.
He noted that current restrictions prohibit the use of the weapons against military targets within Russia.
"Anyone who simply sees on a map where Russia strikes from on a daily basis, where Russia trains its forces and keeps reserves, where it locates military facilities and what logistics it uses-anyone who sees all this, clearly understands why Ukraine needs long-range capability," said Zelensky.
The Ukrainian leader reported that he discussed Ukraine's request for long-range weapons with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy during meetings in Kyiv on Sept. 11.
"I hope that after our conversation, there simply cannot be any unanswered questions about why Ukraine needs sufficient long-range capability," he said.
"I want to highlight once again: Sufficient. Sufficient not to simply say that there is a decision, but to really change the course of the war and make Russia seek peace. And we are really counting on our partners, hoping for results from our partners. At least, we are working on it.
"Everyone knows where Russian missile launchers are being deployed, and what logistics routes are critical for the Russian occupation forces. All of this can be destroyed in a matter of months," he said.
In addition, Zelensky addressed the need for strong global decisions within the framework of international law to end the war.
He accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of wanting to prolong the conflict and emphasized that making the war increasingly difficult for Russia is essential.
"Unfortunately, Putin and his inner circle have not been tangibly affected by the war so far, yet, yet. But Putin and his cronies must feel all the problems that war brings. And this means that the war must become significantly more difficult for Russia. Only then can Russia be forced to understand that the war will have to end. And it must end fairly-on the basis of international law. This requires strong decisions from the world," he said.
He also criticized Iran for supplying missiles to Russia, claiming they are used in terror attacks,
He demanded the destruction of Russian missiles and Iranian-made Shahed drones with allied support.
"If the allies are jointly shooting down missiles and drones in the skies over the Middle East, why is there still no similar decision to jointly shoot down Russian missiles and Iranian 'Shaheds' over Ukraine? And this isn't being done even when missiles and drones are heading towards the territory of our neighbors," Zelensky asked.
Zelensky commented on recent developments in Russia's Kursk region, where the Ukrainian army started attacks in August.
He said that Russia has deployed nearly 40,000 soldiers to the region and is making efforts to increase the number to 70,000.
