Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called the delivery of the Army’s Long-Range Tactical Missile System, or ATACMS, “very important” in his nightly address Saturday.
“We will do everything we can to ensure that partners open up this important source of supply, especially ATACMS and other similar weapons,” Zelensky said. “Because it is necessary to protect life; defend cities like Kostyantynivka or, for example, Kharkiv.”
Ground-to-ground missile can fly about 200 milesapproximately four times the distance of the rocket used by the HIMARS . mobile systems US started sending to Ukraine four months ago.
Zelensky said an attack on the city of Kostyantynivka in the Donetsk region early Saturday left three people dead and 14 others injured. He called the shelling a “daily occurrence” on Ukrainian territories and said, “there can be no taboo in supplying weapons to defend against Russian terrorism.”
The US has refused to send ATACMS to Ukraine for fear they could be used to attack targets inside Russia.
New sanctions: Zelensky also mentioned that he has imposed new sanctions on “185 legal entities and individuals that Russia uses to transport military personnel and equipment by rail”.
“Their assets in Ukraine are frozen and their existing assets will be used to protect us. We will work to make sure that other countries take the same deterrent,” Zelensky said.
Pressure on the Olympic Committee: The President of Ukraine has written a letter to the presidents of the International Sports Federations calling for a review of the decision of the International Olympic Committee to allow Russian athletes to return to international competition.
“Once Russian athletes appear at international competitions, it is only a matter of time before they begin to justify Russia’s aggression and use of terrorist symbols,” Zelensky argues. “.
He called the IOC’s decision “an unprincipled flexibility.”
