RAMSTEIN BASE: US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin cautioned on Friday there was “no one capability” that would turn the war in Ukraine’s favour after President Volodymyr Zelensky urged the West to let his forces use its long-range weapons to strike Russia.

At a regular meeting of Ukraine’s allies at Ramstein air base in Germany, Zelensky repeated his plea for Western nations to supply more long-range missiles and lift restrictions on using them to hit targets such as airfields inside Russia.

Austin said Washington and its allies would continue to give strong support to Ukraine in fighting Russia’s invasion, announcing another $250 million in security assistance.

But, questioned by reporters, the Pentagon chief pushed back on the idea that allowing deep strikes inside Russia with Western weapons would be a game-changer. He said Russia had already moved aircraft that launch glide bombs into Ukraine beyond the range of US-supplied ATACM missiles.

Zelensky has been pleading with West to supply long-range missiles and allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia

“There’s no one capability that will in and of itself be decisive in this campaign,” Austin told reporters at the end of the meeting.

He also said Ukraine had capabilities of its own — such as drones — to hit targets inside Russia that were beyond the reach of ATACM and British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles.

“There are a lot of targets in Russia — big country, obviously,” Austin said. “And there’s a lot of capability that Ukraine has in terms of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and other things to address those targets.” Among other donations, Germany pledged to supply an additional 12 self-propelled howitzers to Kyiv, while Canada said it planned to send 80,840 surplus small unarmed air-to-surface rockets as well as 1,300 warheads in the coming months.

Zelensky made his first appearance at a Ramstein meeting at an important moment in the war.

Ukrainian forces have made a surprise offensive into Russia’s Kursk region even as Russian forces focus on seizing the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine, a logistics hub for Kyiv’s war effort.

“We need to have this long-range capability not only on the occupied territory of Ukraine, but also on Russian territory, yes, so that Russia is motivated to seek peace,” Zelensky said, in remarks that drew support from countries including Baltic nations Lithuania and Estonia.

‘Red lines’

Zelensky has long pushed back against allies who have supplied long-range weapons, but told Kyiv they cannot use them deep inside Russia for fear of instigating a direct conflict between the West and Moscow.

In his remarks at Ramstein, Zelensky said: “Russia’s attempts to draw red lines simply do not work.”

The talks in Germany came as Americans prepare for a November presidential election that could have major implications for Ukraine. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate, has promised to stand with Ukraine.

Published in Dawn, September 7th, 2024