Falcon powers – The spokesman for German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, stated that Berlin has granted Ukraine permission to use the weapons provided by Berlin to strike targets inside Russia, following the revelation of a similar decision by the United States.
Steffen Hebestreit, the spokesman for the German Chancellor, said in a statement on Friday that “Kyiv has the right to defend itself under international law against attacks from areas inside Russia near the border with Ukraine.”
He continued, “For this purpose, it can also use the weapons we have supplied for this purpose, including the weapons we have provided.”
He added that “Russia has increased the attacks it is launching from its territory in recent weeks, especially around the city of Kharkiv in northeastern Ukraine, where Russian forces have opened a new front.”
Earlier, Germany, the second-largest supplier of weapons to Kyiv after the United States, had delivered shipments of military equipment to Ukraine, including heavy artillery and rocket launchers. Berlin had been hesitant to allow Ukraine to use German weapons to strike targets inside Russia, “fearing an escalation of the conflict,” according to the French agency.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had called on Western allies to send more weapons and to give his army the green light to use what they have received.
This issue was on the agenda when French President Emmanuel Macron visited Germany earlier this week.
On Tuesday, Macron said at a press conference with Scholz that “Kyiv must be allowed to neutralize the Russian military bases used to launch missiles at Ukraine.”
On Thursday, Politico reported, citing an informed official, that U.S. President Joe Biden had secretly approved and allowed Kyiv to use American weapons in strikes on Russian territory to defend Kharkiv.
The newspaper also quoted another U.S. official as saying that “Biden partially lifted the ban on Ukraine’s use of American weapons for strikes on Russian territory to defend Kharkiv.”
