Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed Friday “a step forward” after the green light, subject to conditions, given by the United States concerning the use of its weapons against targets on Russian soil.
“This is a step forward towards this goal (…) of defending our people who live in the villages located along the border” with Russia, reacted Volodymyr Zelensky during the third Ukraine-Europe summit from the North to Stockholm.
The day before, American President Joe Biden, who had so far refused to do so, accepted that the Ukrainians would strike targets on Russian territory close to the Kharkiv region (north-east) to defend themselves, which is under Russian strikes. incessant for months.
President Biden “approved the use of our weapons for this objective”, underlined Friday Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who was in Prague for a NATO meeting.
Western countries on Friday showed growing, albeit nuanced, support for Ukraine’s use of their weapons against Russia within its borders.
Germany thus estimated that the Ukrainians could use its equipment against military targets in Russia, particularly in response to the offensive launched on May 10 by Moscow.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s spokesman, Steffen Hebestreit, said Ukraine had the “right” to defend itself with the weapons it had, “including those we delivered.”
Washington’s decision marks a turnaround, with the United States previously saying it fears that such a measure could lead NATO into direct conflict with Russia.
On Friday, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitri Peskov assured that American weapons were “already used to try to strike Russian territory”, seeing this as proof of the “degree of involvement of the United States in this conflict” .
“Escalation”
On Thursday, Russia had already criticized the Atlantic Alliance for launching “a new cycle of escalation”.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Friday that he only saw “efforts” by Russian President Vladimir Putin “to prevent NATO allies from supporting Ukraine.”
Mr. Stoltenberg has been calling for several days on Western capitals to lift restrictions that “tie the hands behind the backs of Ukrainians”.
He recalled that the use of Western weapons for strikes on Russian soil had received support from other countries, citing the delivery of equipment “without any restrictions” on its use by the United Kingdom.
France announced this week that it was also in favor, judging that Ukraine had the right to defend itself by targeting military targets.
However, some member states of the Atlantic Alliance do not share this opinion.
The head of Italian diplomacy Antonio Tajani thus affirmed that “for Italy, it is impossible to use our weapons outside Ukraine”.
“We are not fighting against Russia. We are defending Ukraine, and it is not the same thing,” he declared.
As for Turkey, it said it categorically refuses that NATO “participates” in the war in Ukraine.
“Supporting Ukraine to guarantee its territorial integrity and liberate its territories is one thing. But NATO’s involvement in the war is another,” declared its Minister of Foreign Affairs Hakan Fidan at the end of the meeting in Prague.
880 km2 conquered
The United States, for its part, stressed that it would continue to adapt its position depending on the situation on the ground.
“In the future, we will continue to do what we have been doing, which is to say, where necessary, adapt,” Antony Blinken said in Prague.
The green light from the United States for strikes on Russian targets near Kharkiv was obtained after weeks of behind-the-scenes negotiations, following the launch of the Russian offensive in this region.
Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second city, in the northeast, is the target of bombings almost daily.
Six people were killed there by a Russian strike overnight, regional authorities announced Friday, who had earlier said that 23 people had been injured.
A 39-year-old resident of this city, Ioulia, who was at home, said she heard a “huge explosion” and saw “smoke” before running towards shelter. “I wouldn’t wish it even on my worst enemy,” she said.
Also on Friday, Ukrainian bombings in an area of the Donetsk region controlled by the Russian army left five people dead, according to the occupation authorities installed by Moscow.
In Sweden on Friday, President Zelensky insisted that Ukraine would become “stronger thanks to the support of our allies”.
But, for the moment, the situation on the front is not to the advantage of the Ukrainian army, lacking men and ammunition, facing confident Russian troops.
On Friday, the Russian Minister of Defense, Andreï Beloussov, affirmed that his army had conquered “880 km2” since the beginning of the year on Ukrainian territory, where it regularly claims advances without nevertheless achieving any real progress for the moment. breakthrough.
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