News - World: Ukraine once again urges the United States and its Western allies to allow the use of long-range missiles to hit targets deep inside the Russian territory.

The United States and other Western allies provide long-range weapons to Kiev but restricted it from launching them deep into Russia. 

The Ukrainian president's chief of staff Andriy Yermak said on Tuesday that Kiev needs “permission to use Western weapons against military targets on the territory of the Russian Federation.”

To strike targets inside the Russian territory, he said, the country’s armed forces would also need permission for “deliveries of longer-range missiles, and strengthening our air defenses.”

President Vladimir Putin has warned NATO allies against allowing Ukraine to use their arms to attack Russian territory, saying that his country could provide long-range weapons to others to strike Western targets in response to any such attack on this country.

Putin said that actions by the West will further undermine international security and could lead to “very serious problems.”

However, key suppliers of military hardware to Ukraine, including Britain, Germany and the US have recently eased previous restrictions on how and where their equipment can be used.

On Tuesday, Russia’s defense ministry said it had downed 144 Ukrainian drones from a barrage that also disrupted air traffic at Moscow's airports.

A 46-year-old woman was killed and three other people hospitalized in a drone strike on the town of Ramenskoye, about 23 kilometers from the capital Moscow, said local governor Andrey Vorobyov.

Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov condemned the strike, which he said showed the need for Russia to continue its offensive in Ukraine.

"We must continue the military operation in order to protect ourselves from such displays of this regime."

In the meantime, Moscow said Russian military forces have made sweeping territorial gains in eastern Ukraine.

Source: Press TV