Poroshenko urges Ukraine’s allies lift ban on strikes into Russian territory
Source: European Solidarity Party
Former Ukrainian president Petro Poroshenko has called on Western allies to remove all restrictions on Ukraine’s use of foreign-supplied weaponry for strikes on Russian territory. Speaking at an international conference in Berlin, Poroshenko argued such timid response only embolden Russia as it intensifies its attacks on civilian targets across Ukraine.
Poroshenko said that Russian arms depots and troop concentrations nust be legitimate targets.
“We are waiting for Western arms, I am not talking about machine guns or bulletproof vests. I mean long-range missiles. Why? Because Ukraine has the right to attack legitimate military targets on Russian territory,” said Poroshenko.
Another critical issue is availability of air defence systems that can help protect Ukrainian cities and civilians from Russian attacks. Poroshenko mentioned Israel which received international assistance in countering Iranian missile strikes.
“Can anyone explain why we can’t use NATO’s potential not to attack Russia, but to defend Ukrainian airspace? There is no explanation. That’s why we need to accelerate this,” he said. “Putin must understand that he has no hope of winning this war.”
Poroshenko was bitter about Ukraine’s to NATO membership that is still wrangled over and remains “mired in protracted discussions”.
He reminded that the 2008 Bucharest Summit Declaration opened the NATO doors to Ukraine.
“If the doors are open, let us in. If not, then tell the world why,” Poroshenko challenged.
Poroshenko urged Ukraine’s allies to intensify sanctions against Russia to cripplie it might. “Putin understands only the language of force. He will go as far as we collectively allow him to, and he will stop exactly where we make him stop,” Poroshenko asserted.
In 2025, the deadliest year yet for civilians, Ukraine’s three largest charitable foundations raised a record 105.9 billion hryvnias. It is more than the years 2022–2024 combined. According to the UN, humanitarian aid in Ukraine was delivered by more than 450 organisations, reaching five million people over the course of the year. Civic foundations hold licences to purchase lethal weapons, which is a function states have monopolised for centuries. These record sums were underwritten by international government grants, which means foreign states now channel billions directly through Ukrainian civic funds, bypassing inter-state channels. It is hard to imagine a stronger institutional trust in civil society.
During the GLOBSEC Defence Forum 2026 in Prague, representatives of “Steel Front”, an initiative by Rinat Akhmetov, discussed with NATO delegations, military officials, and representatives of the European defense industry the lessons learned from Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine.
After the start of the full-scale invasion in February 2022, Ukraine witnessed an unprecedented wave of private support for the army. Citizens, big businesses, charitable foundations, and international philanthropists began financing the country’s defense alongside state assistance provided by international partners. Estimates of total private contributions range from tens to hundreds of billions of hryvnias. However, determining the exact amount remains difficult. In many cases, companies combine military aid, humanitarian programs, tax payments, social spending, and employee support in their reporting.
Rinat Akhmetov’s military initiative, “Steel Front”, has delivered a batch of drones worth UAH 214 million to the 1st “Azov” Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. This shipment is part of the Metinvest Group’s ongoing support for the unit in 2025.
On October 6, the Administrative Cassation Court within the Supreme Court of Ukraine continued hearing case No. 990/80/25, in which the fifth President and leader of the party “European Solidarity”, Petro Poroshenko, seeks to have Presidential Decree No. 81/2025 from February 12, 2025 — enacting sanctions by the decision of the National Security and Defense Council (NSDC) — declared illegal and annulled. The plaintiff claims the document was falsified and that the sanctions are a tool of political persecution of the opposition, contrary to international norms. Government representatives deny the allegations and insist their actions were lawful. Journalists of Bukvy were present at the hearing.