President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky announced Kyiv's intentions to increase the scale of strikes deep into Russian territory, describing this as "long-range sanctions." The discussion on this issue took place on October 27 during a meeting of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief's Staff.
“The main topic of discussion is our capabilities for long-range sanctions against Russia… We analyzed the effectiveness of the strikes carried out at a certain stage and the results achieved. Russian 'oil refining' is already feeling significant consequences from the war and will face even more serious repercussions. We have set tasks to expand the geography of our long-range strikes,” Zelensky noted on his Telegram channel.
At the meeting of the Staff, producers of long-range weapons, including drones and missiles, as well as specialists responsible for their effective use and funding, and diplomats gathered together for the first time. Zelensky emphasized that long-term contracts for three years are being signed with the most effective manufacturers, and the number of such deals to support the troops will increase. “All targets for deep strikes [into the RF] must be realized by the end of the year, including the expansion of the geography of our long-range capabilities,” he added.
Last week, The Wall Street Journal, citing American officials, reported that Washington had lifted restrictions on Kyiv's use of long-range missiles provided by Western allies. This allows Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory.
Sources from the publication also expressed expectations that Ukraine would continue attacks on Russian facilities using British Storm Shadow cruise missiles, which are launched from aircraft and have a range of over 290 km. One such attack was carried out on October 21, when the Armed Forces of Ukraine used Storm Shadow to strike a chemical plant in Bryansk that produces gunpowder, explosives, and components for rocket fuel.
In June, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported plans to significantly increase the number and scale of long-range strikes on Russia "several times." It is planned to use "tens of thousands" of strike UAVs for this purpose. Two months later, Kyiv began conducting strikes on Russian industry, including attacks on oil refineries and related infrastructure.
