Western allies no longer restrict Kyiv from using long-range weapons against Russia: German Chancellor

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Monday (May 26) that Western allies of Ukraine are no longer imposing any restrictions on using long-range weapons in Kyiv against Russia.

"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, not from the British, not from the French, not from us, not from the Americans either. This means that Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia, for example," Merz said.

"It couldn't do that until some time ago, and with very few exceptions, it didn't do that until some time ago. Now it can. In jargon, we call this long-range fire, i.e., equipping Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the rear," the German Chancellor added.

He also said that "that is the decisive qualitative difference in Ukraine's warfare." He alleged that Russia attacks civilians in Ukraine "absolutely ruthlessly" by bombing cities, hospitals and schools.

"Ukraine does not do that," he said.

"And we attach great importance to keeping it that way. But, a country that can only defend itself against an attacker on its territory is not defending itself adequately. And this defence of Ukraine is now also taking place against military infrastructure on Russian territory," Merz quipped further.

The German Chancellor further revealed that this was one of the reasons he travlled yo Kyiv with the leaders of France, the UK and Poland on 10 May. During that visit, he had said that all future arms supply talks with Ukraine would be kept confidential.

"Nobody can now reproach us for not having exhausted all the diplomatic means available to us," Merz said.

"Lifting the restrictions on the use of long-range weapons will make "the decisive difference in Ukraine's warfare," Merz explained. He added that "a country that can only oppose an attacker on its territory is not defending itself adequately."