Zelenskyy tells ITV News Ukraine needs long-range missiles 'to survive'
President Zelenskyy tells International Editor Emma Murphy Ukraine is 'waiting' for British 'permission' to use long-range missiles inside Russia
“We need to survive…”, so says President Zelenskyy ahead of an expected US and UK decision on whether or not to allow Ukraine to use long-range missiles inside Russian territory.
The president told me his country now needs to be able to deploy British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles deep inside Russia’s borders.
Whether he will be able to or not will part of the discussions between Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Biden when they meet at the White House later this week.
As he left the Summit of First Ladies and First Gentlemen, organised by his wife to promote the use of soft power diplomacy in the face of Russia’s hard power, the president thanked the UK for its support but said a decision was needed now.
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When I asked him why he was clear, it was a matter of survival.
Ukraine has been pressing the British and Americans for permission to target sites inside Russia with the long-range weapons they have provided.
They believe that could make a difference to the number of attacks on Ukrainian civilians and frontlines.
It was a similar message from the influential head of Zelenskyy’s office Andriy Yermak, who told me: “We did everything necessary from our side and now we are waiting for the so important and historical decision from two leaders of great nations, our big friends, our partners."
“We need it. Very much and urgently. “
International Editor Emma Murphy reports live from Kyiv following threats from Russia's President Vladimir Putin suggesting NATO and Western countries are facing a war with the country
The British-supplied Storm Shadow are highly effective missiles, good for precision strikes and penetrating highly reinforced stores.
That would allow targeting of Russian airfields being used to mount glide bomb attacks that have caused such problems on the frontlines in the east of Ukraine.
But the big issue for Britain and US is the fear of escalation.
Throughout this war the worry is that Western supply of weapons would trigger a Russian response and potentially one beyond Ukraine’s borders.
If a Russian response affected one of its members, it would have the potential to create a huge issue for NATO.
Those arguments however carry little weight with Ukrainians who every day are dealing with Russian attacks.
They believe being able to take out sites in Russia could ease the pressure.
It’s likely their pleas will be heard - but with very strict restrictions on how and where such weapons can be targeted.
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