The German government remains opposed to the idea of setting up a defensive shield from NATO territory to protect against Russian airstrikes in western Ukraine, a top spokesman said on Monday.
“From our point of view, that would be an involvement, a direct involvement in this conflict. And that is something we are not aiming for,” government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in Berlin on Monday.
He also referred to statements by German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius and NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg.
Recently there have been calls for NATO powers to strengthen Ukrainian air defenses by erecting some kind of protective shield over Ukraine.
Hebestreit did not want to comment specifically on whether and in what form Ukraine had given assurances that it would not carry out attacks on targets in Russia with the weapon systems supplied from Germany.
These rules were subject to confidentiality and had proven their worth, Hebestreit said. He also noted that international law stipulates that an attacked state can also defend itself beyond its own borders.
