Biden's delay in sanctioning the use of Western weapons against targets in Russia has made Kremlin forces laugh at Ukraine and "hunt" its people, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an interview with the British "Guardian".
He pointed out that the White House's hesitation cost lives and urged the US president to overcome his concerns about a possible nuclear escalation with Moscow.
On Thursday evening, after months of lobbying, the United States took a small but symbolic step and for the first time allowed some of the American-made weapons to be used in attacks on targets on Russian territory in defense of the city of Kharkiv.
However, in an interview with a British newspaper, Zelensky pointed out that he needs to use "powerful" long-range weapons that can hit targets deep in Russian territory, which is a red line that the White House does not want to cross. "The United States must believe in us more," said the Ukrainian president.
Without the green light from the US, Zelenskiy believes that other allies, such as Great Britain, are also unlikely to allow Ukraine to use their long-range weapons.
"Trust us, we have to respond. They understand nothing but force. We are neither their first nor their last target," he said, referring to Russia.
"I think it's completely illogical to have Western weapons and watch murderers, terrorists kill us from the Russian side. For them it's like going hunting. Hunting people. They understand that we can see them, but we can't reach them ", he explained.
Zelenski also said that he wants to use long-range weapons such as British Storm Shadow missiles, but that Britain did not give "100% permission", contrary to what was reported in the media in the previous days. The president of Ukraine claims that the British are waiting to reach a consensus with Washington.
"We have raised this issue twice. We have not received confirmation from David Cameron," he added.
Asked if he felt the United States had failed him, Zelensky replied: "I think they should believe in us more."
"No one is accusing anyone. We are where we are. We are fighting, we are in a war and we are not at the beginning. That is why we need to find ways out of the situation every day," added the President of Ukraine.
There is no end in sight to the biggest war in Europe since 1945, and Zelenskiy, who was elected president in 2019, is running out of office, but due to the conflict, the elections have been postponed. Does he have the strength to continue? Zelenski says that when he became president, he promised to be with the people until the end and to defend the constitution. That's why, he points out, it wouldn't be fair if he showed any weakness.
"I just don't have the right to do that. It's not worthy of me. And then you turn out to be a liar. I definitely don't want to be a liar, especially for my children," he concluded.
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