French President Emmanuel Macron spoke out in favor of allowing Ukraine to use Western weapons to attack Russian positions on Russian territory as the issue was discussed elsewhere in Europe.
“We believe that we should allow them to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are being fired, and in principle the military sites from which Ukraine is being attacked,” Macron said on Tuesday after talks with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz near Berlin.
“We should not allow other targets in Russia to be hit, civilian capabilities of course, or other military targets,” he added.
“Ukrainian soil is de facto attacked from bases in Russia. How do you explain to the Ukrainians that they have to protect their cities?” said Macron. “If you say to them: ‘You are not allowed to reach the point where the missiles are fired’, you are actually saying: ‘We provide you with weapons, but you are not allowed to defend yourself’.”
Macron also showed a map of the current frontline in Ukraine and underlined that France does not want further escalation.
Scholz emphasized that Ukraine had every right under international law for what it did. “We need to say this explicitly: It is under attack and can defend itself.”
The use of weapons supplied by the US, France and Germany is subject to compliance with international law, he said. “This has worked well in practice so far and will certainly continue to do so,” Scholz said.
Germany and other countries have linked the transfer of weapons to Ukraine to strict conditions for their use, stipulating that they cannot be used to attack targets in Russia, fearing that NATO could otherwise become a party to the war.
However, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg recently proposed lifting restrictions on Ukrainian attacks.
