Ukraine Russia war latest: Kyiv ramps up calls for long-range missiles to strike Putin’s forces deep in Russia

The UK, the European Union and Ukraine have ramped up calls for Kyiv to be allowed to strike deeper into mainland Russia , saying that restricting anything short of full capability renders the long-range missiles “useless”.

Speaking in Brussels, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell and Ukraine’s foreign minister Dmytro Kuleba urged Kyiv’s allies to “lift restrictions”.

“The weaponry that we are providing to Ukraine has to have full use, and the restrictions have to be lifted in order for the Ukrainians to be able to target the places where Russia is bombing them. Otherwise, the weaponry is useless,” Mr Borrell said.

Mr Kuleba added that Ukraine’s backers, should they refuse to budge on this issue, would only have themselves to blame if Russia goes on to win the war.

Yesterday, it was reported that the UK, which along with the US and France have provided long-range missiles to Ukraine, urged Washington to reconsider its opposition to Kyiv firing deeper into Russia.

Due to the way in which the missiles work, they can only be fired without assistance from US weaponry, meaning the decision to block deeper strikes resides ultimately with Washington.