Germany allows arms sent to Ukraine to be used on targets in Russia

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, left, is welcomed by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz at the federal Chancellery, in Berlin, May 14, 2023. AP-Yonhap

The German government has authorized Ukraine to use German-supplied weapons against military targets in Russia, government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced on Friday.

Ukraine has pressed supporters in recent weeks for permission to use weapons supplied by the West to strike Russian forces on Russian territory.

Several other countries, including the United States, have recently made similar moves to give Ukraine more leeway in its use of Western-supplied weapons, after previously specifying that they should only be used against targets within Ukraine itself.

"In recent weeks, Russia has prepared, coordinated and carried out attacks from positions in the Kharkiv area in particular from the immediately neighbouring Russian border region," Hebestreit said on Friday.

Hebestreit said there is consensus that Ukraine has the right under international law to defend itself against these attacks.

"It can also use the weapons supplied for this purpose in accordance with its international legal obligations, including those supplied by us," said Hebestreit.

In theory, several weapons systems supplied by Germany could be used to counter Russian attacks from the border region, including the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer and Mars II rocket launchers.

Many Western countries initially put conditions on military aid packages that limited Ukraine to use those weapons only Ukrainian territory. Those conditions were intended to avoid escalation with Russia and prevent Ukraine's allies from being drawn directly into the conflict.

But Ukraine has contended recently that Russian forces are exploiting those limitations to mass troops near the border and stage attacks against Ukrainian territory.

On Thursday evening, the US government confirmed that it had authorized Ukraine to use American weapons in limited situations against targets on Russian territory. The weapons are to be used to defend against attacks on Kharkiv and to hit Russian forces that are preparing attacks.

The shift in the movement by Western allies came after the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Germany held intensive high-level discussions earlier this week on the use of Western weapons. (DPA)