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Many Ukrainians relieved after U.S. allows the country to use ATACMS to strike Russia

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Many Ukrainians say they're relieved that President Biden authorized the use of more effective American weapons in the war against Russia. They also say their everyday lives remain unchanged. NPR's Hanna Palamarenko reports.

HANNA PALAMARENKO, BYLINE: This is Khreshchatyk Street, a landmark in the capital right off Independence Square. Almost everyone seems to have heard about the U.S. allowing Ukraine to use ATACMS to strike inside Russia and do welcome the news, people like Rihan Jomiva (ph).

RIHAN JOMIVA: I would say it's a great decision that should've taken long before because it's a great thing to target Russians and Russian troops before they enter the territory of Ukraine.

PALAMARENKO: The faint sound of an air-raid siren echoes down the street, and passersby turn their steps to the air-raid shelters again. This shelter is in the metro. Whatever relief there is about being able to use American weapons in Russia, no one's letting up their guard. Forty-year-old engineer Roman Finac (ph) was on his way to the office and sits on the metro steps waiting.

ROMAN FINAC: (Non-English language spoken).

PALAMARENKO: "It's like this every day. This is the reality of Ukraine," he says.

Hanna Palamarenko, NPR News, Kyiv. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by an NPR contractor. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.

Hanna Palamarenko