Occupiers would not attack in Kharkiv region if we could hit ATACMS on Russian territory - "Kraken" soldier Drago
The defence forces had to wait for the Russians to cross the border because of the ban on using American weapons on Russian territory.
According to Censor.NET, the commander of the special forces unit of the Ukrainian "Kraken" detachment with the call sign Drago told the Times.
The journalists note that since last month, the Kraken has been observing the occupiers amassing forces on the border. However, it was impossible to strike at them because of the US ban on the use of its weapons to strike at the territory of the Russian Federation.
"There were a lot of Russians gathered there, and we could have destroyed them on the way, but we don't have many ATACMS and we have a ban on using them. We had to wait until they crossed the border," said Drago.
The soldier's group was holding positions in the village of Krasne in Kharkiv region when the ruscists launched an offensive on 10 May. The invaders managed to bypass the strongholds of the Defence Forces and attack them from the rear.
According to Drago, this would not have happened if the Defence Forces had been able to use ATACMS.
"The Russians would never have been able to surround us and attack us from the rear. We would have attacked them on Russian territory as soon as we saw them. We need this green light. The absence of it is costing us dearly," he added.
Strikes on Russia with Western weapons
President Zelenskyy said that Ukraine has never fired on Russian territory with weapons provided by Western partners.
The Wall Street Journal reported that Ukraine has asked US President Joe Biden's administration to lift restrictions on the use of US weapons in Russia. It also asked the US to help identify targets in Russia that Kyiv could strike with its own weapons.
Earlier, the Pentagon said that it believed that the weapons provided by the United States to Ukraine should be used within Ukrainian territory.
Former US Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland, whose work was related to Ukraine and Russia, believes that Kyiv has the right to strike military targets on Russian territory, and the United States and its allies should facilitate this.
