Ukraine hopes for rapid progress on U.S. permit to strike deeper into Russia

Deputy Head of the President’s Office Ihor Zhovkva said this in an interview with the Voice of America, Ukrinform reports.

"The summit was definitely better than that in Vilnius. Last year, we hoped for more practical results from the summit. And this year in Washington, we got them. In particular, in formulating the final declaration of the summit regarding Ukraine's irreversible path to NATO, this was important for us, and the allies reached an agreement on this. And this paves the way for the next step — an invitation to the Alliance, which I am sure we will receive sooner or later," Zhovkva said.

According to the official, among other practical results, first of all, were clear statements by several partners on the first day of the summit about the transfer of five air defense systems to Ukraine immediately and more by the end of the year.

"Secondly, important statements about the F-16... We tried to push our partners to speed up the provision of these fighters to Ukraine and also asked - and this was included in the final declaration - to increase the scope of F-16 pilot and maintenance crew training as we need more qualified personnel, and our partners agreed," he said.

Zhovkva also noted the new NATO security mission in Ukraine, which will help better and more efficiently coordinate the supply of weapons to Ukraine and the process of acquiring operational interoperability of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with the Allied forces. In addition, he noted the provision of $40 billion for the next year for Ukraine’s military needs.

No less important, according to the deputy head of the Office, is the Ukraine Compact, which was signed after the Ukraine-NATO Council was concluded. "It summarizes what has been done over the past year, but also lays groundwork for the future of security. We need this new security architecture. We are building it not only in Ukraine, but also on the entire continent. And it is very important to understand and remember that this is being done on our way to NATO membership," he said.

Regarding strikes by American weapons deeper into the Russian territory, Zhovkva hopes there will be progress on the issue. He emphasized that the Ukrainian side continues to work with American partners and hopes that a relevant decision will be made in the near future.

"The arguments are very simple – we need to protect ourselves. And everyone knows where the threat comes from: missiles are launched from specific locations... All important decisions that the U.S. made before were made very quietly, and this time it will be the same," Zhovkva said.

Without going into the details of the talks, the official said there is an understanding between the American and Ukrainian sides as to why Ukraine needs this permission.

Answering the question whether this is one of those situations where the U.S. says no until they say yes, Zhovkva answered that there will definitely be progress in the matter. "Just as it has been in the past on other issues that we have discussed with the administration," the official added.

As reported, the 75th anniversary NATO summit took place in Washington this week, where increasing military aid to Ukraine and strengthening the deterrence and defense system of the Alliance itself were on top agenda.