Let Ukraine strike deep inside Russia, or watch the war grind on
On the 943rd day of a war that has reshaped the architecture of European security, Ukraine's president travels to Washington carrying both a plea and a plan — asking the United States to permit long-range strikes deep into Russian territory, a permission that could alter the war's trajectory but risks crossing thresholds that nuclear-armed Russia has repeatedly declared inviolable. Zelenskyy's journey through a Pennsylvania ammunition factory, the UN General Assembly, and the Oval Office is a carefully choreographed argument that the cost of restraint now exceeds the cost of escalation. Behind the diplomacy, children are dying in Kryvyi Rih and apartment blocks are burning in Kharkiv, lending the request a moral weight that no strategic calculus can fully absorb.
- Ukraine's president arrives in Washington with a 'victory plan' built on a single urgent premise: without the right to strike Russian air bases and depots far inside Russia, the war cannot be won.
- Putin has drawn a stark line, warning that Western approval of long-range strikes would mean Russia considers itself at war with NATO — a threat that has frozen the Biden administration's decision for months.
- Overnight, Ukraine demonstrated it already possesses some deep-strike reach, destroying over 2,000 tons of Russian munitions including North Korean-supplied missiles in dramatic explosions that shook two regions hundreds of kilometers inside Russia.
- The human toll sharpens the stakes: a 12-year-old boy killed in Zelenskyy's own hometown, a dozen wounded in Kharkiv, and more than twenty buildings destroyed — the precise kind of strikes Ukraine says it must be empowered to prevent.
- Russia has rejected participation in any follow-up peace summit, calling the process fraudulent, leaving the battlefield and Washington's corridors of power as the only arenas where the war's direction will be decided.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is in Washington this week with a request that is simple to state and enormously difficult to grant: allow Ukraine to use American-supplied weapons to strike deep inside Russia. After months of asking, he is now making the case in person — to Joe Biden, to Kamala Harris, and to the world at the UN General Assembly — alongside a broader "victory plan" he believes can change the course of the war.
The visit is carefully sequenced. Zelenskyy first stops at an ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania, one of the facilities sustaining Ukraine's ability to hold ground in the Donetsk region, before moving to New York and then to the capital. The itinerary is itself a message: Ukraine is still fighting, still supplied, and still asking for more.
The strategic argument is straightforward. Ukraine needs to hit Russian air bases, ammunition depots, and infrastructure far behind the front lines to stop the bombardment of its cities and power plants. Without that reach, Zelenskyy has said, victory is not possible. But the political weight of the request is immense. Putin has warned repeatedly that permitting long-range Western strikes on Russian soil would mean Moscow considers itself at war with NATO — a red line that has so far held the Biden administration back.
Even so, Ukraine has shown it already possesses some of this capability. Overnight strikes hit two major Russian munitions depots — one near Tikhoretsk in the south, another near Toropets in the Tver region, some 380 kilometers from Moscow — destroying what Ukrainian officials say was more than 2,000 tons of weaponry, including North Korean-supplied missiles. The explosions were vast enough to close highways and evacuate rail stations. The strikes may quietly strengthen Zelenskyy's hand.
The human cost gives the argument its moral urgency. A residential building in Kharkiv was struck Saturday evening, injuring at least twelve. In Kryvyi Rih — Zelenskyy's own hometown — Russian missiles killed a 12-year-old boy and two women in the middle of the night, wounded three others, and damaged more than twenty buildings. These are the attacks, Zelenskyy insists, that Ukraine must be empowered to prevent by striking first.
Russia, meanwhile, has ruled out any participation in peace talks, dismissing the Swiss-organized summit process as fraudulent. A second summit with Russian involvement, which Zelenskyy had hoped to organize before year's end, looks increasingly remote. The war's next chapter will be written on the battlefield — and in Washington, where Zelenskyy is making the case that the path to its end runs through permission to reach deeper into Russia.
Volodymyr Zelenskyy is coming to Washington this week with a simple but consequential request: let Ukraine use American weapons to strike deep inside Russia. The Ukrainian president has spent months asking for this permission, and now, as the war enters its 943rd day, he is bringing the case directly to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, along with a broader "victory plan" he intends to unveil to the world.
The timing is deliberate. On Sunday, Zelenskyy will visit the ammunition factory in Scranton, Pennsylvania—one of the facilities keeping Ukraine supplied with the munitions it desperately needs to hold ground against Russian advances in the Donetsk region. From there, he moves to New York to address the UN General Assembly, then to the capital for direct talks with the American leadership. The week is designed as a show of resolve and a final push for the weapons and permissions that Zelenskyy believes can change the trajectory of the war.
At the heart of his appeal is a strategic argument: Ukraine needs to strike Russian air bases, ammunition depots, and infrastructure deep inside Russian territory to stop the relentless bombardment of its own cities and power plants. Without that capability, he has said, the war cannot be won. But the request carries enormous political weight. Vladimir Putin has already warned that if the United States and NATO allow Ukraine to use long-range Western weapons against targets inside Russia, Moscow will consider itself at war with the alliance itself. It is a red line Putin has drawn repeatedly, and one that has so far kept the Biden administration from granting the permission Zelenskyy seeks.
The urgency is underscored by what is happening on the ground. Ukrainian forces struck two major Russian munitions depots overnight—one near Tikhoretsk in southern Russia, another near Toropets in the Tver region, roughly 380 kilometers northwest of Moscow. Ukrainian military officials claim the strikes destroyed at least 2,000 tons of weaponry, including missiles supplied by North Korea. Images circulating on social media showed massive fireballs and chains of explosions that lit the night sky. Russian authorities closed a 100-kilometer stretch of highway and evacuated a rail station after the blasts. The strikes demonstrate that Ukraine has already developed some capacity to hit targets deep inside Russia, even without formal American permission—a fact that may embolden Zelenskyy's case.
But the human cost of the war continues to mount. Russian forces struck a residential building in Kharkiv, Ukraine's second-largest city, on Saturday evening, injuring at least a dozen people and forcing evacuations. In Zelenskyy's own hometown of Kryvyi Rih, Russian missiles hit in the middle of the night, killing a 12-year-old boy and two older women, wounding three others, and destroying or damaging more than twenty buildings. These are the strikes Zelenskyy says Ukraine must be able to prevent by striking first.
Meanwhile, Russia has made clear it will not participate in any follow-up to the peace summit that Switzerland organized in June. Moscow's foreign ministry called the entire process "fraud" and said Russia sees no point in talks that exclude it. Zelenskyy has expressed hope of organizing another summit by year's end with Russian participation, but that prospect seems distant. The war, for now, continues on the battlefield and in the corridors of power in Washington, where Zelenskyy will make his case that the only path to victory runs through permission to strike deeper into Russia.
Citas Notables
Zelenskyy urged Biden to earn 'a place in history' by 'strengthening Ukraine' before leaving office— Zelenskyy, before his US visit
Russia called the Swiss-organized peace summit 'fraud' and said it would not participate in any follow-up— Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova
La Conversación del Hearth Otra perspectiva de la historia
Why does Zelenskyy believe long-range strikes are the key to ending this war?
Because Russia is using its air superiority to systematically destroy Ukrainian infrastructure—power plants, ammunition depots, civilian buildings. Ukraine can't defend against all of it. If Ukraine could strike the bases and factories where those weapons originate, it could disrupt the cycle.
But Putin has said allowing this would mean NATO is at war with Russia. Isn't that a real constraint?
It is. That's why Zelenskyy is going to Washington in person. He's betting that showing Biden the scale of what Ukraine can already do—those 2,000 tons of munitions destroyed—might convince him the risk is worth taking.
What does the "victory plan" actually contain? Is it public?
Not yet. He's unveiling it during the visit. But based on what he's said, it centers on weapons, permission to use them, and continued Western support. It's not a diplomatic solution—it's a military one.
Russia says it won't participate in peace talks. So what's the endgame here?
That's the question no one can answer yet. Zelenskyy is betting on military pressure forcing Russia to negotiate. But if Russia won't even show up to the table, that strategy has limits.
How much of this hinges on the American election in November?
Everything. If Trump wins, the calculus changes completely. Zelenskyy knows he has a narrow window with Biden. That's why he's coming now.