Image source, Sergey Kozlov/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock
- author, Paul Kirby
- role, BBC News
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Russia has accused NATO and the United States of “provoking a new level of tensions” after the United States and Germany became the latest allies to allow Ukrainian forces to use Western-supplied weapons to attack targets in Russia.
A spokesman in Berlin said Germany was convinced that Ukraine had the right to defend itself against cross-border attacks from Russia, particularly on Ukraine’s second-largest city, Kharkiv.
A U.S. official said U.S.-supplied weapons could be used to counter Russian attacks near the Kharkiv region, where Russian forces are “on or preparing to launch attacks.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the decision would help protect civilians living in villages close to the Russian border.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, quoted by TASS, said NATO countries, particularly the United States and European countries, were “entering a new phase of escalation of tensions and doing so intentionally.”
“They are using every means possible to provoke Ukraine and keep this pointless war going.”
Russian forces have launched surprise attacks in areas close to the Russian border in recent weeks and have expanded their presence in the Kharkiv area.
Even before U.S. President Joe Biden said on Thursday night that U.S.-supplied weapons might be used, Britain and France had already signaled they were open to relaxing restrictions on Ukrainian attacks on military installations on Russian territory.
But a US official told the BBC: “Our policy on the prohibition of the use of Army tactical missile systems is [ATACMS] Or long-range attacks into Russia remain unchanged.”
German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said on Friday that Germany was “jointly convinced” that Ukraine had the right to defend itself against Russian aggression.
“To this end, Iran may use weapons supplied for this purpose, including those supplied by us, in accordance with its obligations under international law,” he said.
Germany has yet to deliver its powerful Taurus missiles to Ukraine, but the UK has offered Storm Shadow missiles and France has delivered Scalp cruise missiles.
Russia claimed on Friday that it had pushed Ukrainian forces back up to nine kilometers (six miles) from the border in the Kharkiv region, adding that they now had control of hills near the village of Liptsy. Kharkiv is just over 30 kilometers (19 miles) from the Russian border.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated his message from earlier this week, saying the US would continue to do what it has been doing – “adapt and adjust as needed”.
Speaking to reporters at a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Prague, he said NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg welcomed Ukraine’s decision to ease arms restrictions.
NATO allies have also raised questions about the possible deployment of US-made F-16 fighter jets beyond Russia’s borders.
Ukrainian pilots have been training on the F-16s in recent months, with the first planes due to arrive in Ukraine this summer.
Denmark’s Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen said the country’s F-16 fighter jets could be used to attack Russian arsenals, which he said were legitimate targets.
Denmark is due to deliver 19 F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine this summer, with Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen making it clear that “this does not give Ukraine free rein to use the F-16s to attack Russia at will.”
Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen on Friday refused to confirm the possibility of Danish F-16 fighter jets being used over Russian territory. She said the fighter jets were close to flying over Ukraine but would “not go into further details.”
The Netherlands has avoided making any specific statements about the F-16s, with Foreign Minister Hanke Bruijns Sloot confirming only that the Dutch government “will allow Ukraine to use its weapons on Russian territory in full self-defence” in line with the UN Charter.
Belgian Foreign Minister Alexander de Croo, during a meeting with President Zelensky earlier this week, ruled out allowing Ukraine to use F-16 fighter jets over Russian airspace. De Croo met with President Biden at the White House on Friday.
Russian officials have reacted angrily to the possibility of the F-16s being used on their territory, with Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov saying the F-16s would be destroyed like all other NATO-supplied aircraft and that the situation would not change at all.
But he warned that because F-16s have long been used in NATO’s “so-called joint nuclear missions,” the supply of F-16s to Kiev could only be seen as “a deliberate signal from NATO regarding nuclear weapons.”
