NATO chief reiterates that West should rethink restrictions on weapons for Ukraine
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“By having too many restrictions we are tying one hand of the Ukrainian armed forces on their back,” said NATO’s Secretary-General.
Jens Stoltenberg has urged NATO states to reconsider limits on sending certain weapons to Ukraine.
“It is for allies to decide on restrictions on the weapons they deliver to Ukraine. That is not a NATO decision, it is a decision made by individual allies,” said the NATO Secretary-General on Monday in Bulgaria.
“My message is that I think the time has come to consider some of these restrictions.”
The issue of sending some forms of military support to Ukraine as it battles the Russian invasion is controversial.
Some states are reluctant to provide Kyiv with longer-range, more powerful arms that could strike targets deep inside Russia, as they fear this could escalate tensions and risks dragging Europe into a wider war.
Others say Ukraine needs all the firepower it can get to fend off a larger, better-armed and resourced opponent. They often point out that Moscow seemingly shows no limitations when attacking Ukraine, hitting civilian and non-military targets across the country.
Speaking on Monday, NATO chief Stoltenberg said some states within the US-military alliance had lifted restrictions on providing specific weapons to Ukraine, though others had not.
He called on those continuing to limit their arms supplies to reconsider their position, citing the “nature of the fighting taking place in Kharkiv.”
“By having too many restrictions we are tying one hand of the Ukrainian armed forces on their back because they are reducing their capability to defend themselves.”
“But again, these are national decisions, not NATO decisions,” he added.
The Kremlin scolded NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Monday for suggesting alliance members should let Ukraine strike deep into Russia with Western weapons, and said it was clear that NATO was in a direct confrontation with Russia.
Stoltenberg told The Economist that NATO members supplying weapons to Ukraine should end their prohibition on using them to strike military targets in Russia.
“NATO is increasing the degree of escalation,” Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov told Russian daily Izvestia when asked about Stoltenberg’s remarks.
“NATO is flirting with military rhetoric and falling into military ecstasy,” Peskov said, adding that the Russian military knew what to do.
When asked if NATO was approaching a direct confrontation with Russia, Peskov said: “They are not getting close; they are in it.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly warned the West that it is risking a global war over Ukraine and that a direct conflict between Russia and NATO would mean the planet was one step away from World War Three.
