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Ukraine may defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia. The Kremlin reacts harshly
Ukraine has been given the green light to attack military facilities deep inside Russian territory with weapons provided by the West.
This was confirmed by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who said that Ukraine could now use the weapons handed over by its Western allies to defend itself by attacking inside Russian territory.
"There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons being delivered to Ukraine, neither by Britain, nor by France, nor by us, nor by the Americans," Merz said on Monday during a discussion forum hosted by public broadcaster WDR.
"This means that Ukraine can defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia as well. Until recently, it could not do this, and with very few exceptions, it has not done this either," he added.
Ukraine's Western allies are trying to increase pressure on the Kremlin after an unprecedented barrage of drone attacks by Moscow against Ukraine, which constitute the largest offensive in three years of war.
The German Chancellor stressed that while Kiev is using its weapons to target Russian military infrastructure, Russia continues to attack Ukrainian "cities, kindergartens, hospitals and nursing homes."
"Russia attacks civilian targets completely mercilessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals and nursing homes - Ukraine does not do this," Merz added.
The Chancellor also revealed that this was one of the reasons for his visit to Kiev along with the leaders of France, the United Kingdom and Poland on May 10. During that visit to the Ukrainian capital, he also said that all future talks on arms supplies to Ukraine would be kept confidential.
In the past, Ukraine received long-range missiles from the US, UK and France, but was only allowed to use them against Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.
As for Berlin, before taking office, Merz signaled that he would reverse the ban of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, on sending Germany's Taurus cruise missiles, capable of hitting targets within a radius of 500 kilometers.
Speaking on Monday, the German chancellor said that "no one can reproach us now for not having exhausted all available diplomatic means."
Lifting restrictions on the use of long-range weapons will make "the decisive difference in the Ukrainian war," Merz explained, adding that "a country that can only counter an attacker on its own territory is not defending itself sufficiently."
US President Donald Trump earlier expressed his disappointment with Russian President Vladimir Putin and the delays in efforts to reach a ceasefire.
The Kremlin dismissed Trump's criticism as an "emotional reaction" and defended the deadly attacks across Ukraine.
"The start of the negotiation process, for which the American side made great efforts, is a very important achievement and we are truly grateful to the Americans, to President Trump," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the Russian news agency TASS.
Merz, who took office this month after a campaign that saw him appear more “aggressive” than his predecessor Olaf Scholz, said his government would do “everything possible” to maintain military support for Kiev. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, according to Bloomberg, citing a source familiar with the plans.
For its part, the Kremlin called the decision to give Ukraine permission to strike targets deep inside Russia a dangerous one, adding that "this decision is contrary to our aspirations for a political solution."
French President Emmanuel Macron said Monday from Vietnam that Donald Trump is beginning to understand the Russian president's lies regarding Ukraine.
He added that he hopes the US president's anger at Putin "turns into action."
These comments came after a post by Trump on social media in which he wrote that Putin was "completely crazy" and that he is considering imposing new sanctions on Moscow. /Adapted from Pamphlet by Euronews/
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