German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced on Monday that Germany, along with France, the UK and the US, had lifted restrictions on the range of weapons being sent to Ukraine to help in the fight against Russia.
Russia calls weapons decision a ‘dangerous’ move The Kremlin responded to Merz’s statement, saying that lifting range limits on arms delivered to Ukraine by the West would be “dangerous.”
Western long-range weapons in Ukraine At the beginning of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, the West did not supply Ukraine with any far-reaching weapons to prevent the conflict from escalating.
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 has 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.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz declared Monday that the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany had removed limitations on the types of weapons that could be sent to Ukraine to aid in the war against Russia.
“Neither the British nor the French nor us nor the Americans have any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine,” he declared during the WDR Europaforum 2025 at the re:publica digital conference in Berlin.
As a result, Ukraine can now defend itself by, for instance, attacking Russian military installations. It only recently did that, with very few exceptions. “Now it can do that,” Merz clarified.
In a post on X, the chancellor also restated his stance, saying, “We will exert every effort to continue our support for Ukraine. “,”.
Merz did not state at what point any country, including his own, had made a decision.
Russia describes the choice to acquire weapons as “dangerous.”.
In response to Merz’s statement, the Kremlin said it would be “dangerous” to remove range restrictions on weapons that the West would send to Ukraine. “.
In the event that these decisions have been made, they are wholly inconsistent with our hopes for a political [peace] resolution. According to Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, “if these decisions have been made, they are extremely risky,” Russian journalist Alexander Yunashev reported.
Western nations have been under fire from Russia for providing Ukraine with long-range weapons for a long time. Additionally, Germany has been cautioned by the Kremlin not to give Kyiv the Taurus missile system.
Ukrainian long-range Western weapons.
When Russia launched its full-scale invasion in 2022, the West failed to provide Ukraine with any sophisticated weapons to stop the conflict from getting worse.
Since then, though, Kyiv has received Storm Shadow/Scalp cruise missiles from the UK and France, which have a range of roughly 250 kilometers (150 miles).
Former US President Joe Biden gave Ukraine permission in November 2024 to launch the Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) against Russian targets.
Following London’s approval, Ukraine fired Storm Shadow missiles supplied by the UK into Russia for the first time in November, according to British media reports. France reaffirmed at the time that it was possible to launch strikes against military targets inside Russia.
Merz said nothing about Taurus.
Despite their strong support for Kyiv, the previous German government, led by center-left Chancellor Olaf Scholz, did not deploy long-range Taurus missiles, which have a 500-kilometer range, out of concern that tensions with nuclear-armed Russia would worsen.
Merz has already stated that it is in favor of delivering the Taurus missile system. He did not, however, specify on Monday whether Germany would comply or whether he was alluding to alternative weaponry.
A stance of strategic ambiguity has been adopted by the new government, which has made it clear that it will no longer reveal the types of weapons it is sending to Ukraine.
Russia has issued a warning, stating that it would view any possible Ukrainian attacks on transportation infrastructure using German-made Taurus missiles as “direct participation” by Berlin in the conflict.
By Jenipher Camino Gonzalez, editor.
