The USA and Great Britain are considering allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against targets in Russia. The Chancellor has already made up his mind on the issue.
Immediately before his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selenskyj, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) confirmed that he does not want to further relax the rules for the use of German weapons in Ukraine’s defensive struggle against Russia. With regard to military support for Ukraine, the Federal Government has made “a few decisions that are very clear to me,” said the SPD politician. This also includes the fact that Germany will not lift range restrictions. “That is not compatible with my personal position. (…) We will not do that. And we have good reasons for that.”
Zelenskyj repeatedly asks the allies for long-range weapons so that they can attack Russian logistics and air force military airfields far behind the front line, even on Russian territory. The longest-range weapon supplied by Germany is the Mars II rocket launcher, which can hit targets at a distance of 84 kilometers. In a limited area around Kharkiv, the German government has authorized the use of this weapon or the Panzerhaubitze 2000 with a range of 56 kilometers against targets on Russian soil.
Scholz fears “great risk of escalation”
Scholz has also ruled out the delivery of long-range precision weapons to Ukraine in the future, regardless of decisions by the alliance partners. He recently reiterated his opposition to the delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range from Ukraine to Moscow (around 500 kilometers), on the grounds that this would entail “a great risk of escalation.”
NATO partners the USA, Great Britain and France have delivered cruise missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers. A discussion is currently underway about whether the use of these weapons against targets on Russian territory should be permitted in principle. Zelensky is expected to discuss this with US President Joe Biden during his visit to Washington this week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he would view the use of long-range Western precision weapons against targets deep within Russian territory as NATO involvement in the war.
Source: Stern
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