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Western weapons can now strike deep into Russia, but new problem emerges

Sofiia Turko
4 February, 2025 Tuesday
18:15

Military expert and Defense Express editor-in-chief Oleh Katkov explained that despite the lifting of restrictions on using Western weapons for deep strikes inside Russia, Ukraine only has its own systems capable of hitting targets up to 2,500 km away

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He shared this during on Espreso TV.  

"Today, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that yesterday the Defense Forces delivered a precision strike on the command point of a Russian army unit near the settlement of Novoivanivka. And when we talk about lifting the ban on strikes on enemy territory, it refers to inhumane conditions – our partners had prohibited us from hitting Russian territory. I’ve never heard of our partners prohibiting Russia from striking Ukrainian territory. These were inhumane conditions for defending our sovereignty and land. These restrictions should have been lifted from the very beginning; they should never have existed. It was simply unfair to conduct combat operations against an adversary with superior capabilities under such restrictions," Katkov said.  

The expert noted that Ukraine only has domestically produced long-range systems capable of striking targets in Russia at distances up to 2,500 km.  

"The situation with the restrictions on using Western weapons for strikes on Russian territory has indeed changed for the better. Previously, we were completely prohibited from carrying out such strikes. Now, we are operating without restrictions not only in the Kursk region, but across all of Russia. 

However, the issue remains with the range of these strikes. Russia has the means to strike deep into all of Ukraine's territory. We only have our own systems, with a strike range of up to 2,500 km. It's important to note that we're talking about drones, not missiles. In other words, we don’t have Western-made systems capable of striking at such distances," he added.

  • On February 2-3, Ukraine struck Russian oil and gas facilities, including an oil refinery in Volgograd and an Astrakhan gas plant. Both were hit, causing fires and significant damage to key processing units.
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