KYIV (AFP) — Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said he has not yet got permission from the United States or Britain to use long-range missiles inside Russia.

“Neither America nor the United Kingdom gave us permission to use these weapons on the territory of Russia, on any targets at any distance. We did not use long-range weapons on the territory of the Russian Federation,” he said late on Friday, adding that he thought they feared an “escalation” of hostilities.

Meanwhile, Ukraine’s allies increased military support in early September, Zelensky said late on Friday.

“(Aid) accelerated in September... and we can feel the difference,” said Zelensky, whose army is struggling to stop the advance of Russian forces in the east.

In Russia, the military downed 101 Ukrainian drones that attacked overnight, the defense ministry said on Saturday, with limited damage and no casualties initially reported where the majority fell.

“One hundred and one Ukrainian fixed-wing UAVs were destroyed and intercepted by the air defense systems on duty,” Russia’s defense ministry said on Telegram.

Fifty-three drones were downed over the Bryansk region, where the governor said there were no reports of damage or casualties.

Eighteen went down over Krasnodar, neighboring Crimea, the Ukrainian Black Sea peninsula annexed by Russia in 2014.