The United States should lift the “absolutely unfair” ban on the use of supplied weapons to strike targets on the territory of Russia. This was stated by NSDC Secretary Oleksandr Lytvynenko to the Financial Times.

He said that without this ban, the Russian army might not have been able to advance so quickly near Kharkiv, as Ukraine cannot strike at the rear of this offensive group.

He said that about 50,000 Russian soldiers have been concentrated on the border, of which 30,000 are already involved in the offensive. Lytvynenko said its goals are to “create a buffer zone” for better protection of the Belgorod region and to pull Ukrainian forces out of the Donbas.

“Our forces have done a great job stopping them. I cannot say what may happen in the coming months. But now we have stabilized the situation,” the NSDC Secretary said.

He believes that Putin currently “does not have enough troops” to take Kharkiv, but such an attempt may be made in the future.