Zelensky accuses West of ’emboldening’ Putin

The president of Ukraine yesterday furiously demanded permission to fire British missiles into Russian territory.

As Sir Keir Starmer and Joe Biden held talks in the White House last night, Volodymyr Zelensky blasted the West’s dithering while Russian forces ‘burn down our cities and villages’.

It comes amid fears of a wider conflict, with Moscow warning the UN that a green light for Kyiv to use long-range missiles to attack Russian territory would mean ‘Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power‘.

Tensions between Britain and Russia are on a knife-edge after the Kremlin expelled UK diplomats from Moscow.

Accusations that the envoys were involved in ‘spying and sabotage’ were dismissed as ‘baseless and ludicrous’ by an angry Foreign Office.

Mr Zelensky vented his ire hours before the Prime Minister and the US President sat down in the Oval Office to discuss lifting restrictions on Western weapons.

Ukraine cannot fire British Storm Shadow missiles into Russia itself – from where most of the deadly attacks on its territory are launched.

Vladimir Putin this week warned the West would be at war with Moscow should this change, with many of his air bases and logistics hubs vulnerable to Ukrainian attacks if the restrictions were lifted.

According to US sources, Mr Biden has not yet made a final decision.

Yesterday, in his most outspoken comments of the conflict, Mr Zelensky questioned whether Western politicians actually wanted Ukraine to win.

He posted on X: ‘It is difficult to repeatedly hear, ‘We are working on this’ while Putin continues to burn down our cities and villages. He doesn’t need anyone’s approval.

‘Anyone who looks at a map clearly understands why Ukraine needs long-range capabilities. Russian logistics and military sites are safe because we cannot reach them. We know where they are located. All of this can be destroyed in months. So what is missing to end it? Strength? Decisions? Or the will?’

His comments came after he met Boris Johnson in Kyiv yesterday. The former Prime Minister said: ‘It is vital that Ukraine should be able to defend itself properly by stopping the appalling Russian attacks with glide bombs and Iranian missiles.

‘It is obvious they should be able to use Storm Shadow, [the French] SCALP missile and [the US] ATACMS missile as fast as possible against targets in Russia itself. Every day that goes by means more pointless and tragic loss of Ukrainian lives.’

Last night, Western leaders were urged to stand strong in the face of Putin’s threats of reprisals.

Despite the possibility that Moscow could target Polish military bases, the country’s prime minister Donald Tusk suggested Putin’s words were just sabre-rattling.

He said: ‘It is necessary to take all events in Ukraine and on the Ukrainian-Russian front very seriously. But I would not attach excessive importance to Putin’s latest statements.’

But US sources suggested that while Mr Biden could be persuaded over Storm Shadow, he was reticent to allow Kyiv to fire ATACMS missiles into Russia, fearing it could spark escalation in Ukraine and the Middle East.

In a further blow to Mr Zelensky and Sir Keir, US security sources suggested a decision on Storm Shadow would not be forthcoming immediately.

Western officials are braced for retaliation from Moscow if America and Britain approve long-range missile use.

Air strikes on Polish military bases – used to store Western military supplies for Ukraine – would represent one of Russia’s most extreme responses.

As Poland is a member of Nato, such a move would trigger the alliance’s Article Five, which would require a military response by all member states. For that reason, it is more likely that Putin will opt for ‘sub-threshold’ responses which do not trigger direct conflict.

These could include targeting UK and US undersea cable networks, sabotage missions on bases in Eastern Europe, or extending Russia’s support for Houthi rebels in Yemen, helping them disrupt vital commercial shipping in the Red Sea.

The reprisals message was hammered home yesterday by Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations. 

Vassily Nebenzia told the 15-member Security Council: ‘Nato will be a direct party to hostilities against a nuclear power, I think you shouldn’t forget about this and think about the consequences.’ 

While the Kremlin revoked the accreditations of the British diplomats last month, it announced the move only yesterday.

The timing seemed no accident as it coincided with the PM’s ‘missile diplomacy’ trip to Washington DC.

The Britons left Russia several weeks ago and have already been replaced.

UK military commentators urged Western allies to approve Ukraine’s Storm Shadow requests.

Former Navy commander Tom Sharpe said: ‘Imagine if it was reversed and the UK mainland was being hammered and the US was prevaricating over giving us the weapons we needed to defend ourselves?

‘Zelensky is a man of remarkable patience and fortitude.

‘He must be given what he needs to defend his country. 

‘We must speak the only language Putin understands and that is strength.’

Rear Admiral Chris Parry said: ‘Russians will start to understand the costs that Putin is prepared to impose on his population. 

‘It isn’t so much fun when you are on the receiving end of missile attacks such as the Ukrainians have endured for almost three years.’

It came as North Korea yesterday provided the outside world with a rare view into a secretive facility built to enrich uranium for nuclear weapons. 

In a show of defiance against the West, leader Kim Jong Un called for a rapid expansion of his nuclear program as he walked between long rows of metal centrifuges.