German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said the country’s decision to allow Ukraine to use German-supplied weapons against targets in Russia is a “strategic adjustment to changing circumstances.”
“This decision is the right one. That is what we have always done since the war began [Russian President Vladimir] Putin is fighting Ukraine. We have adapted to the situation and adapted our strategy accordingly,” Pistorius said on Friday during a visit to the Moldovan capital Chisinau.
The decisions by Germany and its allies to allow Ukraine to hit targets inside Russia have very clear parameters and are permitted under international law, Pistorius said.
They were “particularly concerned with the defensive campaign around Kharkov, because the proximity to the border there is particularly clear,” he said.
Weapon systems supplied by Germany and other Western countries could play a role in defensive operations by the Ukrainians to defend the city, he said.
Pistorius visited the southern Ukrainian city of Odessa on Thursday and he said the German government’s announcement responds to what Ukrainian Defense Minister Rustem Umerov told him about the needs in the region.
