The decision to lift any restrictions on the use of Western-supplied long-range weapons by Ukraine was made months ago, the German chancellor clarified on Tuesday.

“In this respect, yesterday in Berlin, I described something that has been happening for months: namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory,” Merz said.

On Monday, the German chancellor revealed that there are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine by Germany, the US, the UK and France.

He stated that Ukraine can now “defend itself, for example, by attacking military facilities in Russia.”

“Until recently, it couldn’t do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn’t done so either.”

The German chancellor stressed that while Kyiv is using its weapons to target Russian military infrastructure, Russia continues to attack Ukrainian “cities, kindergartens, hospitals and care homes.”

“Russia attacks civilian targets completely ruthlessly, bombing cities, kindergartens, hospitals and old people’s homes – Ukraine doesn’t do that.”

Russian attacks continue

Ukraine has received ATACMS long-range missiles from the US, Storm Shadow from the UK and SCALP from France, but initially it could only use them against Russian forces on the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

The administration of former US President Joe Biden eased the restrictions only by the end of 2024. According to multiple reports, Kyiv was given a green light to use the US-supplied long-range missiles in Russia’s Kursk region, where the Russian military reinforced its troops with North Korean soldiers.

But until now Germany had refused to provide Ukraine with Taurus cruise missiles. Before coming into office, Merz signalled he would revoke the ban of his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, on delivering German long-range missiles to Kyiv, capable of striking targets at a range of 500 kilometres.

Russia has previously openly threatened that any lifting of restrictions on long-range weapons would mean war with NATO.

Commenting on Merz’s statement on Monday, the Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the lifting of restrictions was “rather dangerous”.

“If such decisions are made, they will absolutely go against our aspirations to reach a political settlement and the efforts being made within the framework of the settlement,” Peskov said on Monday, after three consecutive days of Russia’s massive attacks on Ukraine.

From Saturday to Monday, Moscow launched a slew of combined aerial attacks, firing over 600 drones and dozens of missiles across Ukrainian cities.

In the largest single attack of the more than three-year-long war, Russia launched a record number of 355 Shahed-type attack drones and decoys on Monday.

Ukraine’s Air Force spokesperson said the Russian military has modified its tactic of drone attacks to bypass air defence and cause more damage.

Yurii Ihnat explained that Moscow is now launching its drones at high altitudes, more than 2 kilometres above the ground, and their routes “keep changing”.

“At this altitude, they become more visible to our radars, but remain out of reach of small arms, heavy machine guns and mobile fire teams,” Ihnat said.

“There is no sign of Germany finally delivering Taurus cruise missiles, because I still see no unity in the coalition and no political will to respond appropriately and with strength and consistency to Russia’s massive escalation,” Kiesewetter wrote in a post on X. “Such statements are therefore not helpful overall because they highlight Europe’s weakness to Russia.”

The confusion around whether Germany is prepared to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine threatens to overshadow Zelenskyy’s visit to Berlin on Wednesday. As Russia continues to hammer Ukraine with killer drone and missile attacks, European leaders are under pressure to formulate a tough response.

But Merz’s recent statements on long-range weapons for Ukraine have sown confusion.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy has long asked that Germany provide Taurus missiles, which have a range of over 500 kilometers and carry a powerful warhead. | Sergey Dolzhenko/EPA

The backlash against Merz began on Monday after he suggested Germany and its key allies had lifted range limits on weapons sent to Ukraine. “There are no more range limitations for weapons delivered to Ukraine. Neither from the Brits, nor the French, nor from us. Not from the Americans either,” Merz said.

The comments were widely interpreted to mean that Merz’s government was ready to make good on his campaign promise to provide Taurus missiles to Ukraine in addition to more robust military aid overall. But on Tuesday Merz appeared to backtrack, saying his comments referred to “something that has been happening for months, namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory.”

The U.S., France and the U.K. have all provided long-range missile systems to Ukraine, and last fall moved to allow Kyiv to use those weapons to strike targets inside Russia. Germany, however, has not provided long-range missiles to date, rendering talk of ending range restrictions from Berlin largely academic.

Britain is backing Germany over letting Ukraine fire weapons deep into Russia to combat Vladimir Putin’s attacks, says No10.

Germany’s new Chancellor said on Monday that his country and other major allies are no longer imposing any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.

Friedrich Merz stressed that “there are no longer any range restrictions for weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine – neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, and not by the Americans either”.

He added: “That means Ukraine can also defend itself by, for example, attacking military positions in Russia,.

“Until a while ago, it couldn’t. It can now.

“We call this `long-range fire’ in jargon, also supplying Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the hinterland.”

Mr Merz later clarified that he was talking about a decision taken months ago, rather than more recently.

Britain has since at least last autumn allowed Kyiv to fire UK-supplied Storm Shadow missiles into Russia to thwart attacks by Putin’s military.

Downing Street backed Germany not putting restrictions on the use of its weapons.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We have always said it’s up to the government of Ukraine when it comes to operational decisions around its weapon systems.

“But the Prime Minister has always been clear that we would provide Ukraine with the support it needs for as long as is needed.

“We have long supported other countries providing long-range fires…”

Commenting on Mr Merz’s statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a decision to lift range restrictions would be “quite dangerous” and “run contrary to our efforts to reach a political settlement.”

Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of military aid to Ukraine after the United States, with Britain leading the arming of Kyiv, first with anti-tank weapons, Challenger II tanks and Storm Shadow missiles.

Mr Merz’s government has been tightlipped on whether it will supply Taurus long-range cruise missiles, something his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, refused to do and Merz advocated for as opposition leader.

The new Berlin government has said it will no longer provide full details of the weapons it is supplying to Ukraine, unlike Mr Scholz’s administration, citing the need for “strategic ambiguity.”

Taurus missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles).

Donald Trump hit out at Vladimir Putin as ‘crazy’ after heavy Russian air strikes on Ukraine (PA Wire)

Meanwhile, Putin continued to defy Donald Trump as his troops seized four villages in Ukraine’s northern Sumy region to create a ‘buffer zone’ from Russia’s border, according to its governor Oleh Hryhorov.

Russia launched 60 drones against Ukraine in an overnight attack, a decrease from hundreds it launched during the weekend, Ukraine’s air force said on Tuesday.

The air force said that 43 drones had been neutralised, with 35 shot down and eight redirected by electronic warfare.

Russia had launched more than 900 against Ukraine over three nights, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said.

The air onslaught prompted Trump to denounce Putin as “crazy” and the US president again threatened sanctions.

But the Kremlin hit back, suggesting Trump was responding with “emotional overloading”.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Tuesday that its air defence systems had downed 99 Ukrainian drones, including 56 over the Belgorod region, overnight.

CNN —

The Kremlin has slammed a “dangerous” decision by Ukraine’s allies to lift the ban on Kyiv firing long-range missiles into Russia after German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said there were no longer any range restrictions on Western-supplied weapons.

Speaking after days of Russia bombarding the Ukrainian capital and other regions with massive aerial attacks, the German chancellor said Monday that his country and other allies had lifted range restrictions.

“There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine. Neither from the British, nor from the French, nor from us. Nor by the Americans,” Merz said at an event held by the German public broadcaster WDR.

“In other words, Ukraine can now defend itself, even by attacking military positions in Russia, for example. It wasn’t able to do that until some time ago. With very few exceptions, it didn’t do that until a while ago either,” Merz explained.

On Tuesday, after his quotes were interpreted as an announcement of new policy, Merz said this “has been the case for months.”

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov slammed Merz’s announcement on Monday, saying the lifting of restrictions was “rather dangerous,” according to Russia’s state-owned news agency TASS.

“If such decisions are made, they will absolutely go against our aspirations to reach a political settlement and the efforts being made within the framework of the settlement,” he said, according to TASS.

Russia has previously openly threatened that any lifting of restrictions on long-range weapons would mean war with NATO.

Putin has warned the West that Moscow would consider any assault supported by a nuclear power to be a joint attack – and that Russia could use nuclear weapons if it was struck with conventional missiles.

The threat of using nuclear weapons was a significant escalation in rhetoric by the Kremlin – although it did not act on the threat once Kyiv started using UK and US made missiles to strike inside Russia’s territory.

Ukraine’s key allies had in the past resisted Ukraine’s requests to use Western-supplied weapons deep inside Russia. That has changed late last year, when former US President Joe Biden gave a green light to Ukraine to use the US-supplied long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems, or ATACMS, inside Russia.

But that, too, was a controversial decision that took months of discussion to reach. The US refused to even provide ATACMS to Ukraine for the first two years of the war, only delivering the missiles for the first time in April 2024. Some American officials worried about escalating the war, now in its fourth year, while others worried about the Pentagon’s dwindling weapons stockpiles.

Merz was appointed chancellor several weeks ago – and his declaration that Berlin would allow Ukraine to use German-made long range weapons to strike inside Russia stands in stark contrast with his predecessor Olaf Scholz, who had repeatedly rejected Ukraine’s calls to lift the restrictions.

However, Merz did not say whether Germany would supply Ukraine with its powerful long-range Taurus missiles – something he had supported when Scholz was still in power, Reuters reported.

The comments from Merz came in the wake of record-breaking drone and missile attacks on Ukraine over the weekend. Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing international pressure to accept a ceasefire deal, including from US President Donald Trump, who has grown increasingly frustrated by the slow progress.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday, Reuters reported, citing several sources.

Russia’s attacks over the weekend killed more than two dozen people, including children, as Ukraine urged Western allies to continue pressuring Moscow to end the war.

“Without really strong pressure on the Russian leadership, this brutality cannot be stopped,” Zelensky said on Sunday.

Trump on Monday voiced increasing frustration with Putin, saying the Russian leader had “gone absolutely crazy” – while also criticizing Zelensky’s statements as causing “problems.”

Pressure is also building from within Trump’s Republican base, with a number of congressmen – including Sens. Chuck Grassley and Lindsey Graham, and Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Don Bacon – urging the president to impose stringent sanctions on Russia.

“It is a time for honesty. Peace talks are having zero effect on Putin,” Bacon wrote on X. “The US and allies must arm Ukraine to the teeth.”

This story has been updated.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov attends a reception for diplomats from African countries to mark Africa Day in Moscow, Russia, Monday, May 26, 2025. Alexander Zemlianichenko/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

MOSCOW, May 27 (Reuters) – Russia said on Tuesday that remarks by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz about long-range Ukrainian strikes into Russia with European weapons suggested that a decision allowing such attacks had been made long ago but kept secret.

Merz said there were no longer any range restrictions on the weapons supplied to Ukraine by Britain, France, Germany and the United States, and that Ukraine could now do “long range fire”.

Sign up here.

But Merz’s remarks were unclear as he also said that Ukraine had been unable to do that until some time ago.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the remarks indicated the calibre of people who had risen to power in leading European countries.

“He (Merz) said yesterday with such pretentiousness that from now on and forever there are no restrictions on the range of strikes,” Lavrov told reporters at a meeting in Moscow with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Lavrov said other German officials appeared to have contradicted the chancellor and that such contradictory signals suggested to Moscow that European powers had long ago decided to allow Ukraine to make long-range strikes deep into Russia with European missiles but that the decision “was kept secret”.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that recent statements by European leaders on the issue had prompted confusion but that if long-range missile fires had been permitted, then it would amount to an “escalation”.

President Vladimir Putin said last year that Russia could deploy conventional missiles within striking distance of the United States and its European allies if they allowed Ukraine to strike deeper into Russia with long-range Western weapons.

After Ukraine struck Russia with U.S. ATACMS, British Storm Shadows and U.S. HIMARS in November, Russia struck Ukraine using a newly-developed hypersonic ballistic missile

Ukraine lobbied its Western allies hard to allow it to strike deeper into Russia and to supply it with more weapons to do so, though the United States and some European powers were sceptical that long-range strikes would change the course of the war and were wary of escalating it into a full-blown confrontation between the West and Russia.

Asked about Donald Trump’s recent remarks on Russia, Lavrov said the U.S. president was showing emotion as he was seeing his efforts for peace in Ukraine sabotaged by European politicians.

Reporting by Dmitry Antonov Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Gareth Jones

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab