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Kyiv's fury after US puts limits on how far Ukraine can strike inside Russia - after Zelensky warned military aid being sent by the West won't defeat Putin

5 months ago 27

By Olivia Christie

Published: 08:41 BST, 23 June 2024 | Updated: 08:41 BST, 23 June 2024

Ukrainian officials have complained the US is putting limits on how far Kyiv can strike inside Russia, stopping it from targeting key air bases. 

Kyiv has claimed Washington is limiting how far it can strike inside Russia to within 62 miles of the border - which it argues puts airfields used by enemy warplanes out of reach, the Washington Post has reported.

It comes after President Volodymyr Zelensky warned the military aid being sent by the West is not enough to defeat Putin

The Pentagon, however, denied the claims with a spokesperson saying Ukraine does 'have the ability to hit back'. 

Earlier this month, Washington gave Kyiv permission to strike inside Russia with US-made missiles. 

Pictured: A Ukrainian soldier carrying cartridges in the Donetsk region of Ukraine yesterday 

Kyiv has claimed Washington is limiting how far it can strike inside Russia to within 62 miles of the border

Pictured: Destroyed buildings following the shelling of Kharkiv on June 22

The US had previously been reluctant to allow such strikes to be carried out for fear of escalating the conflict. 

However, Washington changed its mind after the Kremlin launched an offensive across the border towards Kharkiv at the start of June. 

The row over the US putting limits on Ukrainian missile strikes has reignited as two people were injured and scores of residential buildings were damaged in a Russian missile attack on the Kyiv region overnight. 

Of the three missiles launched by Russia, Ukraine's air defence systems destroyed two over the Kyiv region, Ukraine's Air Force Commander Mykola Oleshchuk said today.

In his statement on the Telegram messaging app, Oleshchuk did not say what happened to the third missile.

Two people were injured by falling debris, Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv region's administration, said on Telegram.

Debris also damaged six multi-storey residential buildings and more than 20 houses, Kravchenko added. 

A gas station, a pharmacy, an administrative building and three cars in the region were also damaged.

Pictured: Residential buildings were damaged during a Russian missile strike in the Kyiv region on June 23

Two people were injured by falling debris, Ruslan Kravchenko, head of the Kyiv region's administration, said on Telegram

Kyiv, its surrounding region and several others across Ukraine were under air raid alerts for about an hour on Sunday morning, starting from around 4.50 a.m. local time.

Witnesses reported hearing several blasts in and around Kyiv at the time that sounded like air defence systems hitting air weapons.

The missile attack comes as Russia also claims to have used a FAB-3000 M-54 glide bomb for the first time in Ukraine, which is twice the size of its standard FAB-1500 bomb. 

The village of Lyptsi in the Kharkiv region was reportedly targeted by the missile strike. 

A video circulating on Telegram shows extensive damage to the village, although commentary admitted that the strike had missed its target. 

US officials described the use of the FAB-3000 M-54 glide bomb as a 'significant development' in the conflict. 

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