Scholz against Ukraine using German weapons to strike Russian territory

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz opposes Ukraine using Western weapons to target Russian territory, German public broadcaster ARD reported on May 26.

Speaking at an event in Berlin, Scholz said Germany had given Ukraine clear rules banning the use of German weapons on Russian soil and he saw no reason to change that . He added that his policy is to prevent an escalation into a “very big war”.

Ukraine's allies discussed calls from kyiv to greenlight the use of Western weapons on military targets in Russia. German Green politician Anton Hofreiter recently spoke out in favor of this idea in order to protect Ukrainian civilians.

“We should therefore not prevent Ukraine from using the supplied weapons to push Russian fighter jets back into Russian airspace,” Hofreiter said, ARD reported on May 25.

Ukrainian MP Yehor Cherniev claimed that Washington had begun discussing the decision to allow Ukraine to use American weapons on Russian territory, citing informal conversations on the sidelines of the NATO Parliamentary Assembly.

“The problem so far is that decisions there are made by a team that currently lacks consensus. But there are pressures from all sides. There are chances, so we are not slowing down,” he wrote on Telegram on May 26.

On May 22, U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson appeared to endorse allowing Ukraine to strike targets on Russian territory with U.S.-supplied weapons, after claiming that Washington should not “micromanage” Ukraine’s war effort.

A bipartisan group of members of Congress also urged the Pentagon to change the restriction, saying it prevented Ukrainians from “defending themselves.”

Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis recently said that US restrictions on the use of long-range ATACMS missiles in Russia were a “mistake”.

U.S. officials have repeatedly said they do not support or encourage Kiev's strikes with U.S. weapons deep inside Russia, while Ukrainian officials are reportedly trying to convince Washington to lift the ban.

Ukraine recently said Washington's ban meant it was unable to attack Russian forces as they assembled before crossing the border into Kharkiv Oblast as part of Russia's new offensive that started earlier in May.