Ukraine foreign minister optimistic as Zelenskyy presses world leaders to supply long-range strike capabilities

Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said in an interview with news agency Interfax-Ukraine on Sept. 28 that at this stage, the transfer of ATACMS missiles to Kyiv is only a matter of time.

“Taurus was the topic of President Zelenskyy's meeting with German Chancellor Scholz, and ATACMS was the topic of his meeting with U.S. President Biden,” Kuleba said.

“The head of the President's Office, Andriy Yermak, is working with (U.S. National Security Advisor) Jake Sullivan, and I’m working with (U.S. Secretary of State) Antony Blinken to resolve this issue as soon as possible.

“And I am convinced that the delivery of ATACMS missiles to Ukraine is a matter of time. Just as we have successfully solved problems with other types of weapons before.”

Kuleba added that it was important to recognize that there are two aspects to the military assistance being given to Ukraine. They are the stability of ongoing the supply of weapons that have been provided since the beginning of Russian aggression, and the provision of items that have been requested but not supplied – currently long-range ATACMS missiles from the United States and Taurus cruise missiles from Germany.

German news magazine Der Spiegel reported on Aug. 11 that the German government is exploring the possibility of providing Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles in the coming months.

However, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz is demanding that they be modified so that strikes on Russian territory are made impossible.

Despite the German government claiming he alone stalled things, the chancellor denies dragging his feet.

UK newspaper the Financial Times reported that the Biden administration had decided to provide Ukraine with ATACMS missiles before Zelenskyy's visit to North America in late September, but chose not to announce it publicly. However, no official decision on the provision of the missiles has been taken yet.

Meanwhile Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Defense Intelligence, has told the media that he believes that even the supply of 100 ATACMS missiles would not change the course of the war.