Ukraine is allowed to use long-range weapons against Russia – the reactions

After much hesitation, the USA has given Ukraine the green light to use more extensive weapons against Russia. A US representative told the AFP news agency on Sunday. He thereby confirmed reports from US media that President Joe Biden has lifted restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine.

While Poland welcomed the US strategy change, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky reacted cautiously. Russia, on the other hand, is warning – once again – of a world war.

The weapons will initially be used to support Ukrainian forces in the Kursk region against Russian and North Korean troops, the newspaper reported, citing US government officials.

The Polish government supported the decision. Biden responded to the deployment of North Korean troops to Russia and the massive Russian missile attacks on Ukraine on Sunday “in a language that Vladimir Putin understands,” wrote Poland’s Foreign Minister Radoslaw Sikorski on the online service X. “The victim of aggression has the right to defend,” he added.

Zelensky reacted more cautiously. In a video message, he referred to the importance of using long-range weapons in the defensive war against Russia. “Today there are many media reports that we have been given permission to take appropriate action,” he said. “But attacks are not carried out with words. Such things are not announced. The missiles will speak for themselves.”

Meanwhile, warnings are coming from Russia about an escalation of the war. US President Joe Biden’s government risks a third world war if it allows Ukraine to use such US weapons to attack targets deep in Russia, Russian MP Maria Butina said on Monday. The Biden administration is trying to escalate the situation while it is still in power.

President Vladimir Putin has not yet commented on the situation. In mid-September, he warned that the West’s approval of such a step would mean “the direct participation of NATO countries, the USA and European countries in the war in Ukraine”, since NATO’s military infrastructure and personnel are in the objective and the firing of the rockets would have to be involved. In late October, Putin said that the Russian Defense Ministry was preparing for multiple response options.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz has reiterated Germany’s willingness to support Ukraine in its defensive battle against Russia for as long as necessary. “Putin must realize that playing for time will not work,” the SPD politician told the Brazilian newspaper “Folha de Sao Paulo” before the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also welcomed the support. She said on Monday in the newspaper that it had been known for a long time that she and her party “see it the same way as our Eastern European partners, like the British, like the French and also like the Americans. When missiles, drones and bombs fall on our country “If children’s hospitals were attacked, if the electricity supply was attacked, if just our normal lives were attacked, then we would defend ourselves too.”

What such support could look like became apparent early on Monday morning. , Germany is delivering 4,000 so-called “strike drones” to Ukraine. Federal Defense Minister Pistorius had already announced the delivery in June, but without giving a date. The drones are significantly higher quality than classic kamikaze drones and have a significantly longer range. According to “Bild”, they are referred to within the industry as “Mini-Taurus”.

Pistorius told the newspaper that he was “very happy that the delivery of these AI-powered strike drones is starting right now.” With it, the Ukrainian armed forces can act against Russian military high-value targets, for example Russian command posts or logistical facilities.”