Berlin - Saba:
German Vice Chancellor and Social Democratic Party leader Lars Klingbeil said the German government, unlike Chancellor Friedrich Merz, has not changed its position on limits on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine.
"Regarding the range, I would also like to say that there is no new arrangement beyond what the previous government did," Klingbeil told a press conference in Berlin, according to the German channel NTV.
Earlier today, Merz told WDR radio that Britain, France, the United States, and now Germany had lifted range restrictions on military supplies to Ukraine, allowing Kyiv to use long-range weapons to launch attacks deep inside Russia.
In mid-April, Merz stated that he did not rule out supplying Ukraine with German-made Taurus cruise missiles, although he said all European partners would have to agree on this.
Defense Minister Boris Pistorius expressed skepticism, saying there were "many arguments" against such a move.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova stated in April that Russia would consider any attack on its facilities with Taurus missiles to be German involvement in the Ukrainian conflict.
Western countries have increased their military assistance to Kyiv since the start of Russia's special military operation in Ukraine in February 2022.
Russia has repeatedly asserted that arms deliveries to Ukraine hinder a settlement and directly implicate NATO countries in the conflict.
Russian officials have warned that any shipment containing weapons to Ukraine would become a legitimate target for Russian strikes.
| more of (International) |