“Many media outlets are reporting that we have received authorization to take appropriate action,” said Volodymyr Zelensky in his daily address. Ukraine's president on Sunday cautiously welcomed reports that the United States has given Ukraine the green light to strike Russian territory using its ATACMS missiles.
European leaders, including Emmanuel Macron, have reaffirmed their support for kyiv, after a series of Russian bombings hit Ukraine's energy network over the weekend.
In Finland, NATO is organizing a large-scale artillery exercise, a first since the Nordic country joined the military alliance in April 2023.
We take stock of the events that have marked recent hours.
Read also: MAP. War in Ukraine: strikes in Russia authorized, Macron denounces Putin… Update
Missiles: Zelensky cautious about American green light to strike Russia
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Sunday cautiously welcomed reports that Washington was authorizing kyiv to strike Russian territory with the long-range missiles it supplies. According to an American official cited by AFP, as well as three sources interviewed by Reuters, the United States has given the green light to the use of long-range missiles on Russian territory.
President Zelensky mentioned this strategic change during his daily address on Sunday evening, without confirming it directly. Recalling the importance of “long range capability” of his army, he noted that“Today, many media outlets are reporting that we have received authorization to take appropriate measures.”
“But strikes are not carried out using words. Things like this are not announced,” a repris Volodymyr Zelensky. “The missiles will speak for themselves.”
Read also : War in Ukraine: what do we know about the ATACMS missiles, which kyiv is now authorized to use?
Western support after a series of Russian strikes in Ukraine
After massive Russian attacks on Ukrainian territory during the night from Saturday to Sunday which targeted the energy network and left ten people dead, Western leaders reaffirmed their support for kyiv.
“We saw the horrible, horrible attacks carried out last night by Russia against Ukraine,” Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said in an interview with Brazilian channel Globo News. “We will stand with Ukraine for as long as necessary,” she said in Rio de Janeiro, on the eve of participating in the G20 summit. “Ukraine can count on us.”
“We must keep our commitments to the Ukrainians, that is to say, allow them to wage this war of resistance, deliver weapons, equipment,” declared French President Emmanuel Macron, during a press briefing in Buenos Aires, before leaving Argentina for Brazil, where he is also due to take part in the G20 summit. Russian President Vladimir Putin “doesn’t want peace” with kyiv “and is not ready to negotiate it”, he said, following the massive Russian attack on the Ukrainian energy network.
“Ukraine needs more air defense – immediately,” underlined for his part the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, for his part, condemned these Russian strikes. “Such attacks are unacceptable and must stop immediately,” he said in a statement from his spokesperson.
First major NATO artillery exercise in Finland
Finland is hosting its first large-scale NATO-organized artillery exercise since the Nordic country joined the military alliance last year, with live-fire exercises beginning on Sunday.
The exercise in northern Lapland is part of “Dynamic Front 25”, the largest NATO artillery exercise ever organized in Europe, with firing exercises in Finland as well as in Estonia, Germany, Romania and Poland. For the first time, NATO allies are practicing large-scale artillery fire on Finnish soil, less than 200 km from the border with Russia.
The Nordic nation, which shares a 1,300-kilometre border with Russia, joined NATO in April 2023, ending decades of military non-alignment following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
This exercise comes as Finland closed its land border with Russia in December 2023, with Helsinki accusing Moscow of organizing the arrival of undocumented migrants in order to destabilize the Nordic country.
