POLL: Do you fear Ukraine using Western weapons against Russia could spark WW3? Vote now

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has claimed his country is in control of 90 settlements in the Russian border region of Kursk, two weeks into the extraordinary incursion launched by Ukrainian troops.

Kyiv’s soldiers part of the mission inside Russian territory, he added, have gained more than 1,250 square kilometres, marking a “significant ideological shift”.

Last week, Kyiv’s forces took control of the town of Sudzha and established a military commandant’s office there, Ukrainian officials said.

Moreover, Ukrainian troops also blew up two bridges over the Seym river, threatening to create a logistic nightmare for Russian defence forces trying to reach the area.

Russia‘s Foreign Ministry claimed the attack on the first bridge had been carried out using Western rockets – likely US-made HIMARS, or the High Mobility Artillery Rocket System.

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In June, the Pentagon said the Ukrainian military was allowed to use longer-range missiles provided by the US to strike inside Russia if it was acting in self-defence.

Mr Zelensky did not confirm Russia‘s claim on the use of HIMARS, but on Monday he urged the Western countries who have supplied long-range missiles to lift their stipulations the weapons can’t be used on military targets inside Russia.

The ban has been enforced amid fears harboured in the West of crossing Vladimir Putin‘s “red lines” and dragging NATO into war.

Mr Zelensky said: “If our partners lifted current restrictions on the use of weapons on Russian territory, we wouldn’t need to physically enter the Kursk region to protect our border communities and eliminate Russia’s potential for aggression.”

During his evening address on August 17, Mr Zelensky said the UK’s “real leadership” on weapons and politics had “slowed down” amid hesitation to allow the use of Storm Shadow missiles against targets in Russia. He said: “We will discuss how to fix this. Because long-range capabilities are a matter of principle for us.

“And the entire world sees how effective Ukrainians – our whole nation – are when defending their independence.”

Now Express.co.uk is asking its readers whether they fear allowing Ukraine to use Western-supplied weapons to strike into Russian territory as the incursion in Kursk continues could spark World War 3.