Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the supply of Military Long-Range Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, “vital” in his Saturday night address.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that partners open this vital supply, in particular, ATACMS and other similar weapons,” Zelensky said. “Because it is necessary to protect life; protect cities like Kostyantynivka or, say, Kharkiv.”
Surface-to-surface missiles It can fly about 200 milesabout four times the distance of missiles used by mobile HIMARS systems The United States started sending to Ukraine four months ago.
Zelensky said an attack on the city of Kostyantinivka in the Donetsk region earlier Saturday left three people dead and 14 wounded. He described the bombing as an “everyday occurrence” on Ukrainian soil and said: “There can be no taboos in supplying weapons to protect against Russian terrorism.”
The United States refused to send ATACMS to Ukraine, fearing it could be used to attack targets inside Russia.
New penalties: Zelensky also stated that he had imposed new sanctions on “185 legal entities and persons used by Russia to transport personnel and military equipment by rail”.
Their assets in Ukraine are off limits, and their existing property will be used for our defense. “We will work to ensure that similar bans are implemented by other countries,” Zelensky said.
Pressure on the Olympic Committee: The Ukrainian president wrote a letter to the heads of international sports federations calling for a review of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to allow the return of Russian athletes to international competitions.
Once “Russian athletes appear in international competitions,” Zelensky argued, “it is only a matter of time before they start justifying Russian aggression and using symbols of terror.”
He described the IOC’s decision as “unprincipled flexibility”.
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