kyiv's use of German weapons to strike targets in Russia will not lead to escalation, says Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said he did not expect Ukraine's targeting of military assets on Russian territory using German-supplied weapons to lead to an escalation of the war .

“As the American president said, we are only talking about the possibility of protecting a large city, for example Kharkiv,” he said on Monday June 3 on Antenne Bayern radio.

The chancellor said the decision to allow kyiv to use German weapons had been carefully considered in collaboration with Germany's “friends and allies.”

At the same time, Scholz quickly assured German citizens that he would never give in to pressure to make “wrong and inappropriate decisions.”

On Friday, May 31, the German government authorized Ukraine to use weapons supplied by Germany to strike targets in Russia.

EXPLAINED: Which countries allow Ukraine to use their weapons on Russian soil?

The official representative, Steffen Hebestreit, explained Berlin's change in position on this issue as a response to the increase in attacks by the Russian army in the Kharkiv region.

These attacks were “prepared, coordinated and carried out” from positions directly adjacent to the Russian border.

Hebestreit said “Ukraine has the right, in accordance with international law, to defend itself against these attacks.”

The United States and a number of other Western countries have granted the same right to kyiv.

On June 3, the Russian Foreign Ministry threatened that decisions regarding Ukraine's use of U.S. weapons supplied to it could have “fatal consequences.”