Western countries showed growing support on Friday, but under conditions, for Ukraine’s use of their weapons against targets in Russia, after the American green light, despite the threats of escalation mentioned by Moscow.
Germany thus estimated that kyiv could use its weapons against military targets in Russia, particularly in response to the offensive launched at the beginning of May by Moscow and which continues in the Ukrainian region of Kharkiv.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesperson, Steffen Hebestreit, recalled that Ukraine had the “right” to defend itself with the weapons at its disposal, “including those we have delivered”.
The day before, American President Joe Biden, who had refused to do so until now, gave the green light for Ukraine to strike under certain conditions targets on Russian soil close to the Kharkiv region, to protect the latter, according to a US official.
This can be done “in order to retaliate when Russian forces attack them or prepare to attack them,” the source said.
This decision marks a turnaround for the United States, which previously feared that such a green light would drag NATO into direct conflict with Russia.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov assured that American weapons were “already used to try to strike Russian territory.”
He saw it as proof “of the degree of involvement of the United States in this conflict”.
” Escalation “
On Thursday, Russia had already criticized the Atlantic Alliance for launching “a new cycle of escalation”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that he only saw “efforts” by Russian President Vladimir Putin “to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine.”
Mr Stoltenberg calls on Western capitals to lift restrictions that “tie the hands behind the backs of Ukrainians”.
He recalled that the use of Western weapons for strikes on Russian soil had received support from other countries, such as France.
“The United Kingdom, for example, has already been supplying Storm Shadow missiles for a long time without any restrictions,” he stressed.
Some NATO countries, however, remain opposed to it.
The head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani affirmed that “for Italy, it is impossible to use our weapons outside Ukraine”.
“We are not fighting against Russia. We are defending Ukraine, and it’s not the same thing,” he said.
880 km2 conquered
The United States remains opposed to Ukrainian strikes deep into Russian territory, the American official said.
“Our position on prohibiting the use of ATACMS or deep strikes inside Russia has not changed,” he said.
ATACMS are long-range missiles supplied by the Americans to Ukraine, capable of reaching a distance of up to 300 km.
The green light from the United States for strikes on Russian targets near Kharkiv was obtained after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, following the launch of the Russian offensive in this region in early May.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, in the northeast, is the almost daily target of bombings coming mainly from Russian territory.
During the night, five people were killed and 23 injured in Russian strikes, regional authorities announced on Friday.
Other people could still be under the rubble, Mayor Igor Terekhov said.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, seeking more air defense systems to protect Kharkiv and the rest of the territory, traveled to Sweden on Friday to plead his case.
Ukraine will become “stronger thanks to the support of our allies,” he said.
But for now, the situation on the front is not to the advantage of the Ukrainian army, lacking men and ammunition.
On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said his soldiers had conquered “880 km2 » since the beginning of the year in Ukraine, where its army regularly claims advances without nevertheless achieving a real breakthrough at this stage.
In response to Russian attacks, Ukraine launched drone attacks during the night from Thursday to Friday, targeting in particular the port city of Novorossiysk and an oil depot in Temryuk, in southern Russia, where a major fire broke out. declared before being contained a few hours later, according to local authorities.
The strike in Temryuk left several employees of the oil depot injured, the governor of the Krasnodar region, Veniamine Kondratiev, said on Telegram.