Ukraine must be allowed to launch symmetrical strikes against Russia - French expert

If the West wants Ukraine to win, it must allow it to launch symmetrical strikes against military targets deep inside Russian territory. This, in addition to providing Ukraine with a sufficient number of long-range missiles, can have a strategic impact on the course of the war.

French military expert and air defense consultant Xavier Tytelman said this in an interview with an Ukrinform correspondent in France.

"The West must allow the use of weapons for strikes deep inside Russia. As long as the Ukrainians are not allowed to strike symmetrically, they will inevitably be thrown off balance. The Russians know that their air bases are safe when they are located 250 kilometers from the front line," he said.

The expert also noted the ingenuity of Ukrainian designers of UAVs that can fly more than 2,000 kilometers away and hit a target, while the amount of explosives they carry is insufficient for an effective attack on command posts, bunkers, bridges, and underground ammunition depots.

"Warheads weighing more than 100 kilograms are needed for this, and this is provided that we can use, for example, American, French, or British missiles. This will have a strategic impact on Russian logistics and Russian potential," Tytelman said.

According to him, the long-range missiles that France supplies Ukraine now cannot be installed on the F-16s, which Ukraine will continue to receive in the near future. However, it is not known whether the Americans will agree to equip these fighters with such weapons.

"At the moment, we don't know if the Americans will agree to supply cruise missiles to them. France makes them, but they are not compatible with the F-16, but fit the handful of old aircraft that are in service with Ukraine," he said.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the latest meeting of the Ukraine Defense Contact Group called on partners to provide the country with the necessary number of long-range weapons and allow them to be used not only in the occupied territory, but also inside Russian territory.