KYIV, Jan 11 (AFP) - Ukraine will be able to win the war in 2023 if it receives more Western weapons, particularly long-range missiles and heavy tanks, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak told AFP on Wednesday (Jan 11).

Otherwise, the war will grind on "for decades", Podolyak said, pointing out that the "bloodiest" fighting was currently taking place in eastern Ukraine in Bakhmut and Soledar.

"Only missiles with a range of more than 100km will allow us to significantly accelerate the de-occupation of our territories," he told AFP in an interview.

The United States last year supplied Ukraine with missile systems with a range of around 80km that were credited with turning the tide of the conflict in Kyiv's favour on several fronts.

Kyiv has also recently received similar French systems.

But it is putting pressure on Washington to deliver US ATACMS missiles, which boast a range of around 300km.

These systems would allow Ukrainian forces to target Russian arms depots deep inside Ukrainian territory controlled by Moscow but currently out of range of the weapons in Kyiv's arsenal.

Ukraine could "destroy all Russian military infrastructure in occupied territories, including in Donbas" in east Ukraine and in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula annexed by Moscow in 2014, said Podolyak.