Ukraine Pushes for Lifting Restrictions on Weapons Use Inside Russia

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Facts

  • Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine's foreign minister, on Thursday urged states to pressure Britain and the US into dropping their restrictions on long-range weapons provided to Ukraine so that they can strike 'legitimate' targets deep inside Russia.[1]
  • Speaking to reporters ahead of an EU foreign ministers in Brussels, Belgium, Kuleba said: 'I'm calling on the European Union to play a role and to make their point very clearly and strongly that this is something that needs to be done now if we want to maintain the momentum.'[1]
  • 'We expect the permission, and we expect the delivery of missiles which can be used for that purpose,' he added.[1]
  • Meanwhile, a Ukrainian lawmaker confirmed to CNN that Defense Minister Rustem Umerov and Andriy Yermak, the head of the office for the Ukrainian president, will this week travel to the US for face-to-face meetings to make the same case.[2]
  • 'They will provide a list of priority targets, without which it will be difficult to change the course of the war in Ukraine's favor,' the Ukrainian lawmaker added.[2]
  • While the US reversed its longstanding policy of not allowing its weapons to strike Russia earlier this year, allowing for limited strikes near border regions, Ukraine was not permitted to use long-range ATACMS weapons to carry out the attacks. It has since lobbied for the lifting of those restrictions.[3][4]

Sources: [1]Barrons, [2]CNN, [3]Guardian and [4]BBC News.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by POLITICO. Lifting Ukraine's restrictions on weapons would allow it to better defend itself by striking Russian sites that launch missiles into Ukraine with impunity. This would help Ukraine's war effort, save Ukrainian lives, and push Putin to negotiate for peace. This is a sound geostrategic and military strategy from Kyiv.
  • Pro-Russia narrative, as provided by TASS. The US needs to think long and hard about the decision on whether to allow Ukraine to strike Russia with long-range weapons. Ukraine knows the only way it can possibly win this conflict is by drawing in the US and UK into the fight and that's what it hopes to achieve by striking Russia with their weapons — even if it leads to the outbreak of World War III.

Predictions