Will Ukraine finally be able to strike Russian territory using equipment provided by Western countries? Central question for Volodymyr Zelensky who continues his tour in Europe. Spain yesterday, Belgium and Portugal today. The United States, Ukraine’s largest arms supplier, did not want to hear about it. Neither do several states bordering Russia. Too risky to provoke Moscow. But after the green light from the head of NATO and the support of the head of European diplomacy, the tide could be turning.
Little by little, the wall is cracking… Since Antony Blinken’s surprise visit to kyiv two weeks ago, American diplomats have been putting pressure on the White House. Because the new front opened by Russia around Kharkiv is scary. The Russian army positioned its artillery a few kilometers from the border. With complete impunity. Without the help of American drones, the Ukrainians do not have the necessary firepower. And that cannot continue, insists Victoria Nuland, who was number 3 in American diplomacy until her withdrawal last March…
“I think if the Russian attacks are coming from just across the border in Russia, those bases should be legitimate targets… If that’s where the missiles are coming from, if that’s where the Russian troops are massed, it is time, because Russia has done everything to intensify the war, including by attacking Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, which is not on the front line and the “Russians are decimating without even a single ground troop,” said Victoria Nuland.
Washington opposes Ukrainian strikes “on Russian soil”
In Europe, Estonia, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom are in favor. It remains to convince Italy and especially Germany which refuses to go further on this hot topic.
The United States, kyiv’s primary military supporter, does not want Ukraine to use American weapons to strike “on Russian soil,” a White House spokesperson said on Tuesday, May 28.
“Our position has not changed at this stage. We do not encourage or allow the use of weapons supplied by the United States to strike on Russian soil,” John Kirby, spokesperson for the National Security Council, said after French President Emmanuel Macron said that kyiv had to be allowed to “neutralize” the military bases from which Russia fires its missiles against Ukrainian territory.
For Mr. Macron, who spoke on Tuesday in Germany alongside Chancellor Olaf Scholz, “we must allow them (the Ukrainians, editor’s note) to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are fired (…), the sites military forces from which Ukraine is being attacked.” “If we tell them, you don’t have the right to reach the point where the missiles are fired from, in fact, we tell them, we are delivering weapons to you, but you cannot defend yourself,” added the French head of state. “But we must not allow other targets in Russia and obviously civilian capabilities to be hit,” he said.
This article is originally published on .rfi.fr
