German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that Ukraine's partners, who support its defense with weapons against the backdrop of increasing Russian aggression and had certain restrictions on the use of the provided weapons, lifted these restrictions on strikes deep into Russia several months ago. Merz said this on Tuesday during a working visit to the Finnish city of Turku, UNN reports, citing Bloomberg.
Details
According to him, in this way the allies of Kyiv gave Ukraine more opportunities to strengthen its defense.
As far as I know, and as I reported yesterday, the countries that had restrictions on the firing range have lifted these restrictions. I have been describing what has been happening for several months, namely that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even outside its own borders," - said Merz.
Since taking office this month, Merz has signaled a departure from his predecessor Olaf Scholz's cautious approach to supporting Ukraine and has taken a tougher stance on repelling the Russian invasion.
Scholz allowed only limited use of German weapons against targets in Russia when he authorized strikes on positions near the border to protect the border Kharkiv.
On Monday, Merz said during a panel discussion in Berlin that there are "absolutely no range restrictions anymore" for weapons supplied to Ukraine by Germany, the UK, France and the US. This means that Ukraine can defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia.
Let us remind you
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul strongly rejected Russian criticism of Germany's decision to lift restrictions on Ukraine's long-range strikes deep into Russia against the backdrop of the Kremlin's blatant unwillingness to end the war through diplomatic means.