German weapons supplied to Ukraine become the full property of kyiv upon their transfer; there are no restrictions on their use for purposes on Russian territory. This was reported to Izvestia by the German Embassy, responding to a question about Berlin’s attitude to the use of Western weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.
“In principle, the use of military force in the exercise of the right of self-defence is not limited to the territory of the attacked country. Weapons supplied to Ukraine by Germany become Ukrainian weapons as soon as they are transferred to Ukraine.” – they said at the diplomatic mission.
As Izvestia notes, the embassy’s response came against the backdrop of talks about the possible transfer of German long-range Taurus missiles to kyiv. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz The transfer of these missiles to Ukraine was previously ruled out.
At the same time, last spring he also ruled out attacks on Russian territory (with the exception of Crimea and new regions) with Western weapons supplied to Ukraine. He then explained that the corresponding demand was expressed to kyiv during the arms transfer. However, already at the end of May, an official representative of the German government Steffen Hebestreit He was unable to answer the question of whether kyiv has the right to carry out attacks on Russian territory.
“I can’t say this because it is part of confidential agreements.” – Hebeshtrein then said.
Vladimir Zelensky He repeatedly called on Western partners to allow strikes with high-precision missiles supplied to Ukraine on Russian territory, explaining this by military necessity. Western allies have long banned the use of the weapons they supply to attack targets in Russia. However, in late spring, the United States, Britain and France eased the ban, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to strike Russian targets located near the border.
At the end of August, the head of European diplomacy Josep Borrell He said that the defence ministers of the EU countries had not come to a unanimous decision on jointly lifting restrictions on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine for attacks on Russian territory. Moreover, according to him, at the meeting it was decided that each country would resolve this issue independently.
Moscow condemns any Western assistance to kyiv, believing that this will only prolong the conflict and will not change its outcome. The Kremlin has described the position of lifting the ban on the use of weapons supplied to Ukraine for attacks on Russian territory as “dangerous”, RBC recalls.
