NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg has insisted that Ukraine has the right to attack military targets on Russian territory to defend itself against Kremlin aggression. ”Many allies have made clear that they accept Ukraine using the weapons it has received to defend itself, including attacking military targets inside Russia; especially when those military facilities are used to attack and direct attacks from Russian soil. We all hope that this will be done in accordance with international law and in a responsible manner,” said Stoltenberg in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic, before the meeting of foreign ministers of the Atlantic Alliance where Ukraine will be discussed mainly.
The situation in eastern Ukraine, where Russia has opened a new battle front and is besieging Kharkiv, is critical. Under pressure from several NATO allies and Kiev, the United States has opened its hand to allow Ukraine to attack artillery, missile bases and command centers on Russian soil with the weapons it supplies.
Washington’s decision, although it is limited and subscribes only to the area from where attacks are launched on Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, is an important leap in the policy that NATO’s largest ally maintains for Ukraine, and may encourage others, still reluctant or unclear, to do the same.
That Friday, Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, announced that her country also supports the kyiv army using German weapons against the Russian lines from which attacks against Ukraine are launched. “International law is clear, attacks can be repelled,” said Baerbock in Prague. “When States are attacked, they not only have the right to defend their country but also the duty to protect their population,” she added. France, the United Kingdom and Poland already allow Ukraine to attack military targets in Russia and logistical lines with the material they supply.
Other allies, such as Italy, have spoken out against it. However, it is not clear whether the type of material that Italy supplies would actually be effective for such attacks. The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, stressed this Friday that the use of Spanish material – mostly defensive – against the Kremlin troops in Russia is not on the table because kyiv has not requested it. “This request has not been made, therefore the material we are delivering is so that Ukraine can defend itself and its territory,” he said in the Czech capital.
Ukraine and its allies are preparing for a long war and kyiv, with the failure of last year’s counteroffensive, has lost the initiative that is now maintained by Russia, which has also prepared its economy for war. Hence, NATO is preparing to consolidate medium and long-term economic, political, diplomatic and military support measures for Ukraine. Formulas that will be formalized at the Washington summit in July — where the Alliance will not issue a formal invitation to kyiv to enter the organization, but will point out that its path towards it is “irreversible” — and that seek foolproof support. challenges such as the possible return to the US presidency of Donald Trump.
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