Ukraine striking Russia with German weapons will not contribute to escalation — Scholz

Olaf Scholz said this in an interview with the German radio station Antenne Bayern, DW reports.

“As the US President said, this concerns only the ability to protect a large city, such as Kharkiv,” the German Chancellor said.

He also noted that the decision to grant Ukraine the right to use German weapons was carefully thought out in cooperation with the country's “friends and allies.” In addition, Scholz assured the citizens of Germany that he would never allow pressure to be exerted on him in order to persuade him to make “wrong and untimely decisions.”

Earlier it became known that the German federal government allowed Ukraine to use the transferred German weapons to strike military targets in Russia, but within a radius of 40 km.

Which countries allowed Ukraine to use its weapons on Russian territory

On May 28, French President Emmanuel Macron said that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets in Russia.

On May 2, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said that Ukraine has the right to use British weapons to strike at Russian territory. In response, Russia threatened to strike at UK military facilities.

On May 26, Swedish Defense Minister Pål Jonson said that Ukraine could use the weapons provided by Stockholm to hit targets in Russia.

Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Estonia, and the Czech Republic also authorized the use of their weapons outside Ukraine.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz warned Russian leader Vladimir Putin that NATO would defend every square inch of its territory.