Ukraine has right to defend itself with strikes against Russia - NATO admiral

Bauer reminded that according to international norms and rules of military conflicts, any country that has been attacked, as was the case with Ukraine, has the right to defend itself, and this right does not end at its borders, which allows it to strike the attacker on its territory.

“In accordance with the rules of armed conflict, you are allowed to attack the nation that attacks you. And you normally do that, in military terms, you do that because you want to weaken the enemy that attacks you. In order to not only fight the arrows that come your way but also attack the archer, that is, as we see, often operating from Russia proper into Ukraine,” said the admiral.

He noted that from a military point of view, there is every reason to strike at enemy territory.

According to Bauer, this weakens the enemy, disrupts its logistics lines, and prevents the supply of fuel, ammunition and other equipment to the front. He also noted that there are all legal grounds for such actions.

However, the admiral emphasized that this is only one part of the discussion that is currently taking place between the Allies.

“The other side of the discussion is, if nations give weapon systems to Ukraine, it is their right as well to have certain limitations in the use of these weapons because they feel responsible for those weapons. And that is a political discussion, and that is what happens and where some nations have a different opinion. But if you ask me, as a military man, it is possible, the answer is yes,” the Chairman of the NATO Military Committee emphasized.

Ukraine has long been using weapons provided by countries such as Britain, France, and the United States to protect itself from Russia. However, during the transfer, the partners forbade Kyiv to use their weapons to strike deep into Russian territory.

This year, however, Ukraine has begun to work actively to obtain permission from its partners for such strikes. After all, destroying the enemy's forces in the rear can significantly weaken them at the front. However, so far none of the allies has authorized strikes deep into Russian territory.

Western media reported today that Kyiv initially asked the United States for ATACMS strikes on Russian air bases, but now the targets have changed.

RBC-Ukraine recently contacted a military expert and learned what may be behind the Western ban on missile strikes against Russia.