Some allies permit Ukraine to strike Russia with Western arms - Latvian Minister of Foreign Affairs
Photo: Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže (Getty Images)
Western partners have already provided Ukraine with weaponry that has no restrictions on strikes against the territory of the Russian Federation, according to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia, Baiba Braže.
She says that Western partners are providing Ukraine with weapons with the agreement that it will not be used for strikes on Russian territory. However, Braže believes that this approach may change, and it is already changing.
When asked by a journalist if there are countries that allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory, she responded affirmatively.
"There are already countries that have provided Ukraine with weapons without such restrictions," said the head of the Latvian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the same time, she stated that this is not the information that should be announced publicly.
"Of course, not everything is announced publicly, and it is even better not to talk about it for a certain time. The main thing is the impact on the battlefield. Because there is a choice: either to talk about something loudly or just to do what is necessary," Braže said.
What preceded it
In 2024, Russia began a full-scale invasion of Ukrainian territory. At that time, a significant number of Western countries provided Ukraine with weapons to resist the aggressors. One of the conditions for the transfer of military equipment and missiles was that Ukraine could not use them for attacks on Russian territory.
At the same time, in August 2023, the former Secretary of the National Security and Defense Council of Ukraine, Oleksiy Danilov, stated that Ukraine had no restrictions on using its own-produced weapons against Russia.
"We have agreements with partners that we do not use their weapons for strikes on Russian territory so that they are not accused of involvement in the war initiated by Russia, but this does not apply to weapons produced by our military-industrial complex," Danilov said at the time.
In February 2024, Jens Stoltenberg, in one of his interviews, stated that Ukraine has the right to strike Russian military targets outside of Ukraine in accordance with international law. He said that each ally would decide for itself whether there should be restrictions on the use of the provided weaponry.
Thus, since the beginning of 2024, attacks on oil refineries have become more frequent in Russia. As repeatedly reported by RBC-Ukraine, these attacks were often a special operation by the Ukrainian military.
Such attacks on oil refineries also caused disagreements among Ukraine's partners. Some countries feared that this could lead to an escalation of the conflict or an increase in gasoline prices on the international market.
