BERLIN, May 27. /TASS/. German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has asserted that the decision to lift range restrictions on weapons supplied to the Kiev regime was made several months ago.
"As far as I know and as I said yesterday, the countries that imposed range restrictions lifted them quite some time ago. So yesterday in Berlin I merely described what has been underway for a couple of months, namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives beyond its own territory against military targets on Russian soil," the chancellor said during his visit to Finland at a joint press conference with Finnish Prime Minister Petteri Orpo aired by the Phoenix TV channel.
"In my opinion, this is necessary," he added. Merz insisted that "only those capable of attacking military bases on [enemy’s] soil can defend themselves."
On Monday, the German chancellor said that his country had lifted all range restrictions on Ukrainian strikes on Russian soil with German weapons. According to the politician, a similar decision was made by the United Kingdom and France. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that such a decision was potentially dangerous and contradicts settlement efforts.
Meanwhile, Merz’s remarks were met with confusion even within his own coalition. German Vice Chancellor and Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil (Social Democratic Party, SPD) told journalists that no new agreements were made on the issue of range restrictions on German weapons sent to Ukraine for strikes on Russian territory.
In turn, Ralf Stegner, a lawmaker from the SPD faction, openly criticized Merz, noting that such statements "are not helpful."