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NATO lifts arms embargo on Ukraine

2024-06-01 08:33:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock

The reaction from Kiev after the decision of Washington and Berlin came immediately. The president's spokesman, Serhii Nykyforov, said that "this will significantly increase our ability to defend ourselves after massive Russian attacks." Previously, the American president, Joe Biden, the chancellor, Olaf Scholz in Berlin and other NATO countries at the informal meeting of foreign ministers in Prague announced that Ukraine, at least in the area of ??Kharkiv, can shoot with Western weapons against military positions in Russia. There was a lot of confusing discussion about this before.

Baerbock: Only international law is the limit

The German Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, stated about this at the summit in Prague, that she calls this discussion wrong. It is about defending against Russia's attack. "International law has been clear from the beginning. It makes it clear that you can repel attacks." It is not a question of whether and how Western weapons from Ukraine are used in Russia.

Experts are of the opinion that international law allows the attacked state to strike and destroy positions, bunkers, logistics, command headquarters and other military objectives in the territory of the aggressor, and to do so without regional restrictions for certain parts of the front. Baerbock made it clear that there is an agreement on this with Ukraine, but their content cannot be discussed publicly.

The Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, said that Ukraine is acting according to the UN Charter. NATO countries have the right to help Ukraine in self-defense by all means. Stoltenberg rejected Russia's threats.

USA: Matching the situation to the battle

The US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, said that the situation must be adapted to the battle. Russian attacks in the Kharkiv area must be repelled by Ukraine. The West has given Ukraine weapons, with which from the Kharkiv region it will be possible to strike with a range of 40-60 km in the interior of Russia and fight Russian positions and weapons depots. It has not been said which weapons are stationed in this area.

The expert, Ondrej Dityrch from the EU Institute for Security Studies, said in a conversation with DW that the current development is the right response to the current situation in the battle in Kharkiv. "Of course you have to find a difficult balance here too. But I see a transformation, because many states now say, there is no other limitation than international law. Without other conditions we no longer force Ukraine to fight with a tied hand behind your back."

The use of longer-range American and British-made missiles is further prohibited. Minister Baerbock did not specifically answer whether the German Patriot missile defense systems can be fired into Russian airspace.

Western soldiers in Ukraine?

NATO ministers also consulted on the possibility of sending Western military instructors to Ukraine. The French President, Emmanuel Macron, at the beginning of the week said that concrete plans for this will be announced next week. In NATO, it is considered an open secret that French and British soldiers help service and program the missiles, but there is no official confirmation of this. But no NATO country plans to send combat troops to Ukraine.

The Hungarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orban, a NATO member country, criticized the alliance, that with the increased engagement in Ukraine, it is risking a world war instead of protecting its members. The alliance's plans resemble a fireman trying to put out a fire with a flamethrower, which is absurd, said Orban, who maintains good relations with the Kremlin.

Czech security expert Ondrej Ditrych does not see any major risk of escalation, "There is a kind of Western ambivalence about the possible breaking of the front of Russian troops in Ukraine. I do not believe that the risk of escalation lies in the things that are currently being thought about ." In Prague, the NATO Foreign Ministers also consulted on a new financial aid package for Ukraine. The future of NATO, the distribution of the financial burden as well as the relationship with Russia and China will be discussed at the NATO summit in Washington in mid-July, on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the founding of the alliance./ DW