Moscow slams Germany for talk over allowing Kiev long-range arms

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Moscow slams Germany for talk over allowing Kiev long-range arms

Russia slammed Germany on Monday after Chancellor Friedrich Merz suggested Ukraine could now employ longer-range weapons in its defence against Moscow.

These are “quite dangerous decisions, if they have been made,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

He was referring to an earlier statement by Merz, who said there were “no longer any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine, neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, nor by the Americans.”

It is unclear whether Merz’s comments represent a change, or if he was referring to the use of certain Western missiles against Russian territory since late last year.

The United States has given Ukraine ATACMS missiles, which have a range up to 300 kilometres, while the United Kingdom and France have supplied Shadow Storm/Scalp cruise missiles. Berlin is weighing whether to provide Taurus cruise missiles which have a range of 500 kilometres.

At present, Germany provides Kiev with the Mars II rocket launcher, which has a range of about 85 kilometres, and the Panzerhaubitze 2000 self-propelled howitzer, with a range of about 35 kilometres.

These are the only ******* weapons the Ukrainian army can use to hit targets behind the front line.

Moscow has warned Berlin against supplying longer-range weapons to Kiev, saying this would make Germany a direct party to the war.

Merz did not explicitly mention Taurus missiles, but said Ukraine could now defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia. Until recently, it had not been able to do so, he said. “Now it can,” he added, without providing further details.

Peskov responded that supplying long-range weapons to Ukraine was “contrary to Moscow’s efforts to find a political solution.”

Later, ******* Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul rebuffed the Kremlin’s criticism.

“There have now been several calls and opportunities for the Russian president to come to the negotiating table, and he has rejected them,” Wadephul said at a meeting with his Portuguese counterpart Paulo Rangel in Lisbon.

“We have always been clear that this behaviour will not remain without consequences,” Wadephul added.

The ******* government has “always made it clear that we will support Ukraine in its defensive struggle against the Russian aggressor,” Wadephul said.

Germany will decide on further sanctions within the European framework, he said, adding that he would also discuss the issue with his US counterpart Marco Rubio during an upcoming visit to the United States.

Asked whether Berlin was ready to supply Kiev with long-range Taurus cruise missiles, long demanded by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Wadephul said he would not “make any statements about individual weapons systems.”

The ******* government will not give Russian President Vladimir Putin “the opportunity to know what we are doing specifically,” he added.

Merz’s statement appears to counter the policy set by previous chancellor Olaf Scholz, who allowed the use of ******* weapons such as the Mars II multiple rocket launcher against positions on Russian territory in the region around the embattled Ukrainian city of Kharkiv.

But he opposed lifting the restrictions on their use beyond that.

******* Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil, a Social Democrat like Scholz, said Berlin had not changed its course. “As far as range is concerned, I would like to say that there is no new agreement that goes beyond what the previous government has done,” he said when asked at a press conference in Berlin.

The spat comes as Zelensky is expected to visit Berlin on Wednesday to meet Merz, according to ******* media reports.

Der Spiegel magazine said Merz wants to discuss possible steps towards further “technical” peace talks between Ukraine and Russia.

Merz is also set to inform the Ukrainian president about plans for a new EU sanctions package against Russia, intended to increase the pressure on Moscow to engage in serious negotiations.

The ******* chancellor, who took office earlier this month, has voiced support for the European Commission’s proposal to prevent the Nord Stream gas pipelines in the Baltic Sea from resuming operations under the new sanctions.

During a visit to Kiev earlier this month, Merz, along with French President Emmanuel Macron, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk, had threatened further sanctions on Russia if Moscow did not agree to a 30-day ceasefire.

The pressure led Putin to propose direct talks with Ukraine in Istanbul for the first time in three years, but the negotiations did not produce any results apart from a prisoner exchange.

Zelensky is also due to meet ******* President Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin.

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