Ukraine hands U.S. list of targets inside Russia for ATACMS strikes – defense chief
Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov said this in an interview with CNN, Ukrinform reports.
"We have explained what kind of capabilities we need to protect the citizens against the Russian terror that Russians are causing us, so I hope we were heard. We are showing that the airfields that they are using to hit our cities are within the range of deep strikes," he said.
Umerov added that Ukraine had handed over to the U.S. a list of targets which it plans to hit with long-range ATACMS missiles once the relevant permission is obtained.
According to the minister, Ukraine seeks to remove restrictions on the use of ATACMS in order to protect Ukrainian civilians and infrastructure.
“They’re killing our citizens. That’s why we want to deter them, we want to stop them, we don’t want [to] allow their aviation to come closer to our borders to bomb the cities,” said Umerov.
The head of the Ministry of Defense noted that Ukraine is more focused on the "opportunities" provided by newly-gained ground in Russia’s Kursk region, not on maintaining Russian territory in exchange for land that Russia seized from Ukraine.
“We are focused to increase our capabilities to withstand, to repel the Russians from the temporary occupied territories,” said Umerov.
As Ukrinform reported earlier, the Ukrainian delegation headed by Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy of Ukraine Yuliia Svyrydenko kicked off a visit to Washington, where they held a first meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
