Ukraine urges allies to provide weapons to end the war

A building on Beresteiskyi Avenue destroyed by a Russian missile attack in Kyiv, Ukraine on September 2, 2024. Photo / Getty Images

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the end of the more than two-and-a half-year war with Russia depends on the “resolve” of Kyiv’s Western allies in providing needed weaponry and permission to use it.

Zelenskyy, speaking in his nightly video address, thanked his military for a new strike on an arsenal in Russia, though he did not identify the location.

He also said his meetings next week in the United States were “crucial” to ensuring Ukraine had the defence capabilities it needed.

“If we could direct all our precision towards defending our state, if there were enough missiles and permissions that partners could provide for this, the overall situation in the war would be better for our security”.

“The answer to the question, ‘When will the war end?’, is actually in when our partners’ resolve will not lag behind what we can do for our defence, our independence, our victory.”

“Our clear strategy will be on the table of our partners. On the table of the president of the United States.”

Zelenskyy issues almost daily pleas for Ukraine’s Western allies, principally the US, to boost supplies of weaponry to fend off the slow advance of Russian forces in the Donetsk region on the eastern front of the war.

Kyiv also seeks permission to use Western weapons against targets deep inside Russia to pre-empt Moscow’s air attacks on Ukraine’s infrastructure, including energy facilities.

Russian forces struck a multi-storey apartment building in Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv, on Saturday evening, wounding 21 people and prompting an evacuation of some of its residents, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said.

Kharkiv, 30km from the Russian border, has been a frequent target of Moscow’s attacks since the Kremlin’s troops launched their February 2022 invasion of its smaller neighbour.

Ukrainian forces hit two Russian munitions depots overnight - in Krasnodar region in the south and in Tver region in the west, illustrating its growing capability to strike targets deep inside Russia.

Russian officials acknowledged the Ukrainian overnight attack on one of the depots in southern Krasnodar region, saying it was carried out with drones. They introduced local emergency measures to mitigate the effects of the assault.

Zelenskyy attends sessions next week of the UN Security Council and General Assembly.

He has also scheduled meetings with US President Joe Biden and Vice-President Kamala Harris, who is also the Democratic candidate for president. Zelenskyy has also said he hopes to meet her Republican rival, Donald Trump.