Permission to strike deep into Russia is matter for individual Ukraine's allies, NATO chief says
Photo: Mark Rutte, NATO Secretary General (Getty Images)
The issue of allowing Ukraine to use long-range weapons against targets in Russia is a matter for a particular ally. However, there are all legal grounds for the authorization, NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte says.
According to him, the question of how the weapons provided to Ukraine can be used is a matter for individual allies.
“Legally, that is possible, because legally Ukraine is allowed to use its weapons if they can hit targets in Russia, if these targets present a threat to Ukraine. But whether individual allies do that, that's in the end always up to individual allies,” Rutte says.
The NATO Secretary General says that this issue was also discussed during the trilateral meeting, which was attended by him, President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
“We discussed it today. But in the end, it is up to the individual allies,” Rutte reiterates.
Authorization to strike deep into Russia
One of the key issues in the US assistance to Ukraine is the authorization to strike Russia with the transferred weapons. Ukraine has repeatedly made this request to be able to attack strategic enemy targets. After Zelenskyy's visit, it was expected that these restrictions would be lifted, but this did not happen.
In particular, The Guardian reported that the United States and the United Kingdom had already made a decision on Ukrainian strikes against Russia, but did not announce it. However, Zelenskyy's spokesperson, Serhii Nikiforov, said that the Russians themselves would be the first to know about the lifting of the strike restrictions.
