West imposing no range restrictions on arms for Ukraine, Germany's Merz says
Western partners are not imposing any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine for use against Russian military targets, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on May 26.
“There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the U.K., France, nor us. There are no restrictions by the U.S. either,” Merz said during a discussion forum organized by the WDR channel.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia,” the chancellor added. “Until recently, it couldn’t do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn’t done so either."
Ukraine has previously received long-range missiles from the U.S., the U.K., and France — including ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and SCALP — but was initially permitted to deploy them only against Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.
Only in late 2024, the U.S. Biden administration and the U.K. eased the restrictions, allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against Russian military targets in border regions. U.S. President Donald Trump has criticized ex-President Joe Biden’s decision to ease the restrictions as he seeks to negotiate a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.
Merz did not say explicitly whether he was referring to the decisions made by the U.S. Biden administration and partners in late 2024 or new, until now unannounced policies.
The German chancellor also stressed that while Ukraine is using its arms to target Russian military infrastructure, Russia continues to attack Ukrainian “cities, kindergartens, hospitals, and care homes."
Before becoming chancellor, Merz signaled he would overturn the ban of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, on the delivery of Germany’s Taurus cruise missiles, capable of striking targets at a distance of 500 kilometers (300 miles). He has not confirmed whether he intends to deliver the missiles since taking office.
The Kyiv IndependentAnna Fratsyvir