ADDS PRESS CONFERENCE BETWEEN UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT, DANISH PREMIER; MINOR EDITS
By Burc Eruygur
ISTANBUL (AA) - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy would not confirm nor deny Tuesday that Kyiv used long-range US missiles amid Moscow’s claims that it downed ATACMS ballistic missiles above one of Russia’s border regions.
The Russian Defense Ministry claimed earlier that it downed six of the missiles above the region of Bryansk. If true, it would represent the first attack by Kyiv using the long-range US ATACMS missiles since the start of the Russia-Ukraine war 1,000 days ago.
The Russian statement comes days after The Washington Post reported that outgoing US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use long-range missiles supplied by the US for "limited strikes" within Russian territory.
Brian Nichols, US assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs, confirmed the authorization earlier Tuesday to the Brazilian newspaper, O Globo.
Zelenskyy said in response to a question during a news conference with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Kyiv that “Ukraine has long-range capabilities, including domestically produced drones, the Neptune (cruise missile), and now ATACMS. We will use all of these.”
He said after listening to remarks by Russian President Vladimir Putin on the renewal of Moscow's nuclear doctrine, it is time for Germany to support the "corresponding decisions" regarding Ukraine’s long-range capabilities.
The Ukrainian president argued the last 1,000 days seem to be enough to understand that Russia does not want peace.
"Today, they presented an updated nuclear doctrine. Why didn't they present a peace strategy? Have you heard of such a thing? Of course not. They have a nuclear weapons strategy," said Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy confirmed the presence of contacts between himself and US President-elect Donald J. Trump, adding their teams are in contact as well.
Frederiksen indicated that Denmark assured Ukraine of support during its presidency in the 27-member EU in the second half of 2025, and announced more than €130 million ($137.2 million) in aid to Ukraine's defense industry.
She said Denmark’s support for Ukraine will continue, referring to its transfer of artillery and F-16 fighter jets to Kyiv, with six of the latter having already been delivered to Kyiv as part of a first batch.
"This has been a challenging process, but we have made significant progress in training. The deliveries (of F-16s) will continue as planned, with the second and third batches to follow," she added.