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Merz Confirms Ukraine Cleared to Strike Russian Targets With Western Missiles

May 26, 2025 16:58

2 min read

Authors: Maryna Kulakova
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German Chancellor Friedrich Merz during press conference on May 22, 2025 in Vilnius, Lithuania. (Source: Getty Images)

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz confirmed on May 26 that Ukraine is now allowed to use Western-supplied long-range weapons against military targets inside Russia.

Speaking at a WDR-hosted forum, Merz emphasized that there are no longer any restrictions on how far Ukraine can strike using Western-provided systems.

“There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons delivered to Ukraine – neither by the UK, France, nor us. There are no restrictions by the US either,” Merz said.

“This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military facilities in Russia,” he added. “Until recently, it couldn’t do that, and apart from very few exceptions, it hadn’t done so either.”

Wir werden alles tun, was in unseren Kräften steht, um die Ukraine weiter zu unterstützen. Das bedeutet auch keinerlei Reichweitenbeschränkungen mehr für Waffen, die wir liefern. Die Ukraine kann sich jetzt auch verteidigen, indem sie militärische Stellungen in Russland angreift.
— Bundeskanzler Friedrich Merz (@bundeskanzler) May 26, 2025

Ukraine has previously received long-range missiles such as the US-made ATACMS, the British Storm Shadow, and the French SCALP-EG, but was initially limited to using them only on Russian occupied Ukrainian territory. Those limits began to shift in late 2024 when the Biden administration and the UK eased restrictions, allowing strikes on Russian military targets near the border.

Merz did not clarify whether his comments referred to previously announced changes or to new, currently undisclosed decisions.

German Chancellor has previously indicated that Germany is open to supplying Taurus cruise missiles to Ukraine, contingent upon specific conditions. He emphasized the necessity of coordinating such a decision with European partners and ensuring that Russia ceases attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure.

Taurus missiles, which have a range of about 500 kilometers, are considered Germany’s counterpart to the British-French Storm Shadow/SCALP-EG systems already in Ukrainian hands.

Merz also highlighted the importance of a unified European stance on lifting range restrictions for long-range weapons provided to Ukraine.