President of Ukraine: Russian Airfields Used by Bombers Must Be Destroyed

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy has called on Western leaders to allow the use of their weapons to destroy military facilities on the territory of the aggressor state of Russia, including Russian airfields from which military aircraft take off and bomb children and civilians in Ukraine on a daily basis.  Zelenskyy said this during a speech at the inaugural plenary session of the European Political Community Summit, which is taking place in the UK, Ukrinform reports.

‘The fewer restrictions we have on the use of weapons, the more Russia will move towards peace. Planes take off from Russian airfields and bomb our children and citizens. All these airfields must be destroyed. This will mean not only the destruction of certain targets, but also Russia's ability to continue this war,’ Zelenskyy said.

He added that  ‘we can end this war through diplomatic efforts and weapons’.

‘We did not give Russia the opportunity to advance in the Kharkiv region. Putin has sacrificed tens of thousands of his citizens, but has not achieved anything important and significant. This was made possible by the bravery of our soldiers and the bravery of our partners, who lifted restrictions on the use of weapons near the border. Did this lead to an escalation? No, it did not. On the contrary, it blocked Putin's attempts to expand the war. Did Putin react in any way? No,’ the Head of State noted.

‘The more powerful the air defence is, the more helpless Putin will be,’ Zelenskyy stressed.  

As a reminder, in early July, the occupying Russian army launched several waves of massive missile and drone strikes against Ukraine. In particular, in Kyiv, Dnipro, Kryvyi Rih and Donetsk region. As a result of these attacks, dozens of people were killed and hundreds were injured. The Okhmatdyt Children's Hospital, along with its patients, was among the facilities hit by a Russian missile strike and partially destroyed.