German Chancellor announced on Modnay that , along with France, the UK and the US, had lifted restrictions on the range of weapons they are sending to to help in the fight against Russia.
“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine — neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans,” he said at the WDR Europaforum 2025 at the re:publica digital conference in Berlin.
“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia… With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until recently. It can now do that,” Merz explained.
He also reiterated his position in a post on X, adding, “We will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine.”
Merz did not specify which country, including his own, had decided on any changes at which stage.
Russia calls the move “dangerous”
The Kremlin responded to Merz’s statement that lifting range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine by the West would be “dangerous.”
“If these decisions have indeed been made, they are completely at odds with our aspirations for a political (peace) settlement… These are quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev.
Russia has long criticized Western countries for supplying Ukraine with long-range weapons. The Kremlin has also .
Western long-range weapons in Ukraine
At the beginning of , the West did not supply Ukraine with any further-reaching weapons to prevent the conflict from escalating.
However, later the UK and France have supplied Kyiv with Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missiles.
In November 2024, former US President Joe Biden authorized Ukraine to use the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against targets in Russia.
Also in November, Ukraine fired UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia for the first time after receiving approval from London, according to British media reports. At the time, France also reiterated that strikes on military targets inside Russia were an option.
Merz made no mention of Taurus
The previous German government, led by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, strongly supported Kyiv, yet with a range of 500 kilometers for fear of escalating tensions with a nuclear power.
Merz has previously expressed support for delivering the Taurus missile system. However, on Monday, he did not clarify if Germany would do so or if he was referring to other weapons systems.
The new government has emphasized that it will no longer disclose what weapons it is sending to Ukraine, instead adopting a position of strategic ambiguity.
Russia warned that it would consider potential Ukrainian strikes on transport infrastructure with German-made Taurus missiles to be “direct participation” by Berlin in the conflict.
Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez
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