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on august 31, local time, ukraine sent a high-level delegation, including the first deputy prime minister, defense minister, officers of the general staff of the armed forces and the head of the presidential office, to visit washington and held meetings with senior us officials at various levels. regarding the specific purpose of the delegation's visit to the united states, ukrainian president zelensky made a clear request in a video speech in kiev that day that the united states and other western countries would allow kiev to use long-range weapons provided by the west to strike military targets deep in russian territory. according to russian media reports, ukrainian defense minister umerov also submitted to washington a list of targets in russia to be struck with us-made weapons. in recent times, although ukraine's attack on kursk, russia, has caused a sensation in western public opinion, zelensky even announced that he would personally go to the united states to submit a "victory plan." however, the situation of the russian-ukrainian conflict seems to be changing rapidly. zelensky admitted on august 31 that russia's recent largest-scale attack on ukraine has put the ukrainian army in a difficult situation in multiple directions on the front line. in this regard, russia today tv broadcast an interview with russian foreign minister lavrov on september 1. lavrov said that ukraine is trying to launch a large-scale war to get the united states and other nato countries to intervene and fight for ukraine. he said that russia's position on the negotiations is clear: "ukraine cannot join nato."

publicly naming the united states, britain, france and germany

according to the ukrainian independent news agency on september 1, on the evening of august 31, ukrainian president zelensky once again "publicly pressured" the united states and other western allies in a video speech. he said that the ukrainian delegation - the first deputy prime minister, the defense minister, the general staff of the armed forces and the head of the presidential office are currently in washington, and ukraine and the united states have held meetings at various levels. "one of the most important issues for us is the possibility of using (western-provided) long-range weapons to strike targets in russia, which is the key to preventing attacks on kharkiv and other cities and regions in ukraine."

zelensky described the difficult situation caused to ukraine by the recent large-scale attacks carried out by russia. he publicly named western countries and said, "i ask the united states, britain, france and germany: we need a chance to truly and fully protect ukraine and the ukrainian people. we need permission to use long-range weapons to strike targets in russia, and we need your long-range weapons and ammunition. these important decisions cannot be postponed because they can affect the current situation in the most favorable way."

"kiev provided the united states with a list of targets to strike in russia," the russian newspaper viewpoint reported on september 1, saying that ukrainian defense minister umerov, who was visiting washington, submitted a list of targets in russia to be struck with american weapons. ukraine also requested the lifting of restrictions on the use of the long-range army tactical missile system (atacms). however, the report did not specify the specific content of ukraine's list of targets to strike in russia.

according to reuters, umerov met with us officials on august 31. in an interview with cnn, he said: "we have explained what kind of capabilities we need to protect citizens from the 'terrorist attacks' that the russians have inflicted on us, so i hope that our opinions will be heard."

however, in response to zelensky and umerov's requests, pentagon spokesman ryder said on august 31 that the united states currently has no plans to lift restrictions on the use of u.s. weapons to strike deep into russia in ukraine.

ukraine's "kiev independent" analyzed on september 1 that the united states has not yet allowed ukraine to use its atacms and other long-range weapons to deeply strike targets in russia, which shows that the united states is wavering and hesitant in assisting ukraine in its war against russia, and lacks a clear expectation of the ultimate goal of this war. according to the report, ukraine has always believed that restrictions on its use of long-range weapons to strike targets in russia are stifling its efforts to continue fighting, while the united states is worried that allowing ukraine to deeply strike targets in russian territory may lead to an escalation of the situation. in addition to targeting russia, the ukrainian military's actions in kursk oblast, russia, are also intended to dispel u.s. concerns and pressure the united states to lift restrictions on the use of long-range weapons.

on september 1, russian news agency quoted kartapolov, chairman of the defense committee of the russian state duma (lower house of parliament), as saying that if the west lifts the ban on ukraine using its long-range weapons to attack russia, moscow will respond in a tough and asymmetric way, and the west will immediately feel the consequences. the report quoted experts' analysis that kiev faces many obstacles in responding to this request from the united states and the west. on the one hand, russian nuclear missiles are one of the main means of deterring the west; on the other hand, two factors must be considered - the us presidential election and the tense political situation in europe. in fact, zelensky's call is a risk, and the west will not rush to support ukraine in further escalating the conflict because the west puts its own interests first.

ukrainian air force commander suddenly fired

ukraine is currently eager to "pressurize" the west to lift restrictions on its use of long-range weapons. in addition to the urgent situation on the front line, the crash of the f-16 fighter jet donated by the west has also dealt a heavy blow to ukraine. according to a report by ukrainian news agency on august 31, ukrainian defense minister umerov denied in an interview with the media that day that the sudden dismissal of ukrainian air force commander oleschuk the day before was related to the crash of the f-16 fighter jet donated to ukraine. he said that these are two independent issues, (the dismissal of the air force commander) is a "personnel rotation", "at this stage, i will not connect the two." umerov said that ukraine is investigating the crash of the f-16 fighter jet, and the investigation is also open to ukrainian partners.

what worries ukraine even more is the subtle change in the us attitude. the wall street journal quoted informed us officials as saying that for security reasons, the biden administration rejected the proposal to send contractors to ukraine to maintain western military equipment including f-16 fighter jets. the report said that the us hopes that european countries will take more maintenance responsibilities and provide maintenance support for the fighter jets and other weapons sent to ukraine.

russia today tv said that the crash of the f-16 fighter jets in ukraine shortly after it received them was a serious blow to the ukrainian army's ability to effectively use western fighter jets and the reliability of its capabilities. it may also undermine the west's confidence in continuing to train ukrainian f-16 fighter pilots and subsequent fighter jet assistance. the incident also shows that the ukrainian army may not have made the necessary preparations to skillfully use the f-16 fighter jets, but was forced to hastily put the fighter jets into use due to the current war situation in order to reverse the situation as soon as possible.

ukraine "is caught in a bitter struggle in four directions"

on september 1, russia today tv broadcast an interview with russian foreign minister sergei lavrov. regarding zelensky's request for the united states and other western countries to allow him to use long-range weapons to strike targets deep inside russian territory, lavrov said that zelensky, who is "completely controlled by the united states," wants to create trouble and plans to start a large-scale war in an attempt to get the united states and other nato countries to intervene and fight for ukraine. when talking about the ukrainian army's attack on kursk oblast, lavrov said it was difficult to judge what goals and plans the ukrainian authorities had set. zelensky claimed that this was done in order for the two sides to exchange occupied territories later, but this was "too stupid and naive" and "we don't discuss territorial exchanges with anyone."

lavrov reiterated that russia has long been ready for dialogue, but kiev has repeatedly proved that it completely lacks the ability to negotiate. "all those who try to hinder the russian-ukrainian negotiations should understand that the longer it takes, the more difficult the negotiations will be."

on september 1, the commander-in-chief of the ukrainian armed forces, sersky, admitted on social media: "the situation of the ukrainian army is very difficult in the main attack direction of the russian army." the day before, zelensky also said in a video speech that he had communicated with sersky that day and was told that the front line was "in a tough battle in four directions": currently, the fighting in the direction of pokrovsk (called the red army city by the russian side) is the most intense, and the directions of kramatorsk, toletsk, and kupyansk are "not easy either."

related reports in the us media also show that the us is increasingly disappointed with ukraine. "ukraine's adventure in kursk has not slowed down russia's offensive in eastern ukraine so far," the washington post said on august 31. the ukrainian army has entered kursk for more than three weeks, and ukraine hopes this is a move to turn the tide of the war. although kiev's move boosted morale, moscow continued to capture new territory in eastern ukraine. the report said that if ukraine's goal is to exchange land for land, it obviously does not work, and "putin still holds the initiative." the report also said that if zelensky's bold plan fails, ukraine will lose many well-trained soldiers, most of the foreign-supplied equipment, and land in the east.

regarding whether to relax restrictions on ukraine's use of u.s. long-range weapons, the hill reported that atacms has a long production cycle and the u.s. is also facing a shortage of inventory, so kiev "should not expect the u.s. to provide it with atacms." abc quoted u.s. officials as saying that in addition to concerns about escalating the conflict, washington currently does not believe that relaxing restrictions on the use of weapons will make a significant difference in the war. "there is no magic bullet to win the war," said a u.s. official.