German Defense Minister Boris Pistorius said that if civilians were not harmed by this, the Ukrainian army could conduct military operations on Russian soil.
So, on the broadcast of the ZDF TV channel, the head of the defense department commented on his previous position on the inadmissibility of hostilities on the territory of the Russian Federation.
“A distinction needs to be made here. “In such military conflicts, it is absolutely normal for the attacked party to advance into enemy territory, for example, to cut supply lines,” he said.
At the same time, according to him, it is permissible “as long as there are no attacks on cities, civilians and civilian areas”.
In this context, Pistorius also stressed that there are “red lines” in arms procurement and that his partners must take into account “how the war is being waged” when providing military assistance to Ukraine.
“If Ukraine demands certain types of bombs that are banned worldwide, then you have to say no,” the defense minister said.
Previously, Ukraine asked the United States to supply it with MK-20 cluster munitions. Such ammunition, which has been banned in more than 120 countries under the Convention on Cluster Munitions, is still not banned in the USA, Russia, China, Ukraine and many other countries.
Pistorius also touched upon the issue of Ukraine’s NATO membership. He called for a decision on this issue “with a cold head and a warm heart, not the other way around”.
The minister believes that the time has not yet come to decide whether to accept Ukraine into the EU or NATO. According to him, joining the alliance can only be after the end of the conflict with Russia. Pistorius pointed out that such agreements cannot be made “out of solidarity alone”.
Position of other allies of Kiev
Earlier, Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki spoke about attacks on Russian territory. In his opinion, Ukraine has the right to take such actions, and they do not violate any agreements with countries that support Kiev.
Morawiecki also expressed his doubts that such attacks could lead to a direct confrontation between NATO and Moscow, as “Russia will lose such a war very quickly and the Kremlin knows it.”
The Polish prime minister believes that hostilities in Ukraine may continue for several more years and that the strength of the Russian army should not be underestimated, despite the fierce fighting. “This is why we must prepare for a longer war,” the politician summed up.
Previously, Ukraine’s Western partners avoided rhetoric that encouraged the Ukrainian Armed Forces to launch attacks on Russian territory. Especially at the end of 2022, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said that Washington did not encourage Kiev to attack Russian territory. But, according to The Times, the attitude of the American authorities has changed and the United States no longer insists that the Ukrainian Armed Forces not attack Russian soil.
In early April, White House strategic communications coordinator John Kirby said the United States allowed Kiev to attack the DPR and LPR, Zaporozhye and Kherson areas, but did not help Ukraine conduct military operations “outside its territory.”
“We do not provide conditions or encourage Ukrainians to attack outside Ukraine,” Kirby said.
At the Pentagon in April expressed concern Possible use of US Armed Forces weapons for attacks on targets inside Russia. France takes a similar position. In January, President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine should not strike Russian territory with the Western weapons supplied to it.
However, Russia’s border areas – Belgorod and Bryansk, Kursk and Voronezh regions – regularly report shelling from Ukraine. On April 20, Belgorod Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said that since the beginning of the Russian military operation, the region has come under fire more than 2,000. Since February 2022, 30 people were killed and more than 120 injured as a result of shelling in the region.