CNN
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Germany and other Ukrainian allies said on Monday they lifted restrictions on Kyiv to fire long-range missiles at Russia, days after the Russian prime minister attacked the capital and other regions with massive air attacks.
This indicates a major shift in approaches from major allies. This was a major resistance to Ukraine’s demand for the use of weapons provided by the West deep in Russia.
“There is no longer a limit to the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine,” German Prime Minister Friedrich Merz said at the European Forum in Berlin on Monday. “Not from the British, but from the French, from us, from the Americans.”
“In other words, Ukraine can now defend itself by attacking Russia’s military status,” he added.
The announcement comes in the wake of record-breaking drone and missile attacks in Ukraine over the weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing international pressure to embrace ceasefire deals from. President Donald Trump is increasingly irritated by the slow progress.
Mertz was appointed prime minister a few weeks ago. His declaration was in stark contrast to his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, who repeatedly refused calls to lift Ukraine’s restrictions.
However, Merz did not say whether Germany would supply Ukraine with its powerful long-range Taurus missiles.
The US lifted restrictions last November, and former President Joe Biden allowed Ukraine to use US-backed long-range army tactical missile systems (ATACMS) within Russia.
But that was also a controversial decision that had been debated for months to reach. The US refused to even provide ATACM to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, only delivering missiles for the first time in April 2024. Some American officials were worried about expanding the war in their fourth year, while others worried about the Pentagon’s declining stockpile of weapons.
Russia openly threatened that lifting restrictions on long-range weapons meant a war with NATO. Putin considered Moscow to consider nuclear-backed attacks as a joint attack, and warned the West that if Russia was hit with traditional missiles, nuclear weapons could be used.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denounced Mertz’s announcement on Monday, saying lifting restrictions was “very dangerous,” according to Russian state news agency TASS.
“If such a decision is made, they are against our desires and against the efforts being made within the framework of the settlement,” he said.
Reuters reported that Ukrainian President Voldymeierzelensky is scheduled to visit Berlin on Wednesday, citing several sources.
The weekend Russian attacks killed more than 20 people, including children, as Ukraine urged its western allies to continue pressure on Moscow to end the war.
“There is no really strong pressure on Russian leadership and this atrocity cannot be stopped,” Zelensky said on Sunday.
Trump raised his frustration with Putin on Monday, saying that the Russian leader “absolutely went crazy.” Meanwhile, he criticized Zelensky’s statement for causing “problems.”
Pressure from within Trump’s Republican bases has also urged the president to impose harsh sanctions on Russia, including many lawmakers (Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham), as well as many lawmakers, including Brian Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon.
“It’s an honest time. Peace negotiations have not affected Putin,” Bacon writes in X. “The US and its allies must arm Ukraine with its teeth.”
