In an interview with The Washington Post, Gen Valeriy Zaluzhnyy, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, commented on the supply of defence aid to Ukraine and Western allies' fears about possible shelling of Russian territory with their weapons.
Zaluzhnyy said, he uses weapons made in Ukraine for the frequent strikes across the border that Kyiv never officially acknowledges as its own.
"To save my people, why do I have to ask someone for permission what to do on enemy territory?" Zaluzhnyy told The Washington Post. "For some reason, I have to think that I'm not allowed to do anything there. Why? Because [Russian President Vladimir] Putin will… use nuclear weapons? The kids who are dying don’t care.
"This is our problem, and it is up to us to decide how to kill this enemy. It is possible and necessary to kill on his territory in a war. If our partners are afraid to use their weapons, we will kill with our own. But only as much as is necessary."
Carrying out a counteroffensive to reclaim that territory, defeat Russia and minimize Ukraine’s casualties requires resources that Zaluzhnyy said he’s still lacking. Western officials have said Ukraine has enough to succeed, but Zaluzhnyy was sharply critical of counterparts who have argued that Kyiv doesn't need F-16s. Their own militaries would never fight like this, he said in the interview.