Poland urges to allow Ukraine to strike Russian airfields
![Poland urges to allow Ukraine to strike Russian airfields](https://newsukraine.rbc.ua/static/img/1/2/12_45abd81a19084e244cb4ab1df164d0ed_650x410.jpg)
Ukrainian soldiers should be allowed to use Western weapons to strike Russian airfields. This way, Ukraine will be able to protect children's hospitals, stated Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski following a meeting of the EU Council.
He recalled that the EU foreign ministers had met for the first time since the barbaric Russian missile attack on the Okhmatdyt children's hospital in Kyiv.
In this regard, Sikorski urged his colleagues to lift restrictions on Ukraine's use of long-range missiles to prevent similar attacks by Russians in the future. This could be done by striking Russian strategic bombers and airfields.
"I believe that it would constitute self-defense, which is allowed by international law. Protecting children's cancer hospitals is not an escalation,” the Polish Foreign Minister emphasized.
What preceded it
On July 8, Russian troops launched a large number of cruise missiles at Ukraine. One of the main targets was Kyiv.
Despite the fact that the Ukrainian capital is well protected from the air, several missiles still reached the targets of the Russian army. One of them hit the Okhmatdyt children's hospital, where more than 600 patients were staying at the time.
Ukraine's allies strongly condemned the Russian strikes. Also, after the strike, the United States announced plans to transfer one Patriot air defense system to Ukrainian defenders. At the same time, the position of Western countries on long-range strikes against Russia with the missiles that the Ukrainian Armed Forces received from them has not changed.