Despite intense diplomatic discussions, Washington DC, Paris, and London are avoiding officially allowing Ukraine to fire donated long-range rockets at Russian targets.
On Saturday, President Volodymyr Zelensky's chief of staff, Andrij Jermak, again appealed for permission. The move came after the meeting between British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and President Joe Biden at the White House, which ended without any concrete promises.
Allowing strikes deep into Russia will accelerate a solution, Jermak said, according to AP.
North Korean Ammunition
On Saturday evening, a high-profile Ukrainian meeting was held on the development of the Russian invasion war. Ukraine's military intelligence chief, Kyrylo Budanov, said that North Korea's military support to Russia was one of the biggest problems.
The amount of war material that (North Korea) delivers to Russia really makes a difference in the intensity of the battles, Budanov said, and stated that especially deliveries of ammunition pose a problem for the Ukrainian military.
USA's national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, participated via video link at the meeting in Kiev, without commenting on the non-delivery of Ukraine's ability to fire rockets at Russia.
Sullivan regretted delays in deliveries of war material to Ukraine, but assured that it was due to logistical problems – and not political unwillingness.
He confirmed that USA's President Joe Biden and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky will meet at the UN headquarters when the General Assembly meets in New York later this month.
New Attacks
The meeting in Kiev was held after another night when Russian military attacked Kiev with drones. Charkiv, Cherson, and Odessa were also attacked.
Russia claimed that Ukrainian drones were shot down in the Russian border regions of Belgorod and Kursk.
Meanwhile, diplomatic contacts continued to be held between Western countries about the next step in Ukraine's warfare against the invading power.
From Helsinki, both the new Swedish Foreign Minister Maria Malmer Stenergard (M) and her colleague Elina Valtonen (Saml) announced on Friday an agreement on the issue of Ukraine's military being allowed to attack targets on Russian territory.
The only limitation that exists for arms deliveries is that their use must be in accordance with international law, Malmer Stenergard said, according to Hufvudstadsbladet.
Corrected: in an earlier version of the text, Jake Sullivan's location was incorrect.
