German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Ukraine has been given permission to use weapons supplied by its allies to launch strikes deep inside Russia.
“There are absolutely no range limits anymore for weapons delivered to Ukraine, not from Britain, the French or from us — also not from the Americans,” Merz said at a conference in Berlin on Monday. “That means Ukraine can defend itself by attacking military positions also in Russia.”
Ukraine’s Western allies are trying to put pressure on the Kremlin after Moscow launched its biggest drone barrage against Ukraine since the full-scale invasion over three years ago.
US President Donald Trump earlier expressed his frustration with the Russian leader and stalled efforts to lock in a ceasefire.
The Kremlin brushed aside Trump’s criticism as an “emotional reaction” and defended the deadly campaign of missile and drone attacks across Ukraine.
“The beginning of the negotiation process, for which the American side made great efforts, is a very important achievement, and we are truly grateful to the Americans, to President Trump,” Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, according to the state-run Tass news service.
Merz, who took office this month after a campaign in which he appeared more hawkish than his predecessor Olaf Scholz, said his government will do “everything in our power” to maintain military support for Kyiv.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is scheduled to visit Berlin on Wednesday, according to a person familiar with the plans.
French President Emmanuel Macron, speaking to reporters during a visit to Vietnam, said a deadline on the Kremlin would serve to show that Putin “is lying” and urged Trump to back up his comments with additional measures against Russia.
“In recent hours, we have once again seen Donald Trump express his anger,” Macron said. “I simply hope now that this will translate into action.”
