German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said that the potential use of weapons supplied to Ukraine to attack Russia would be unwise. He said this on Thursday, February 23, in an interview with the TV channel ZDF.
“It always remains right to be smart, and therefore it would not be very wise if now the one who uses the weapons that we supply [Киеву]for example, would have made an attack on Russian territory, ”said Scholz.
The German Chancellor added that Kyiv’s allies agreed with this and agreed that an attack on Russia would not happen.
Meanwhile, Scholz again noted that the West will continue to provide assistance to Ukraine “for as long as necessary.”
Earlier in the day, the former Ukrainian ambassador to Germany, and now the country’s deputy foreign minister, Andriy Melnyk, said that Kyiv expects more bold decisions from Scholz regarding the supply of weapons to Kiev. He urged the politician to break the existing “borders of what is permitted” and provide the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) with everything necessary.
Also on Thursday, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmitry Kuleba assured that Kyiv would not use fighter jets and long-range weapons if they were supplied by Western countries for strikes on Russian territory. At the same time, he stressed that Ukraine will use these weapons “to liberate the territories.”
On February 21, Bloomberg wrote that the United States will transfer to Ukraine JDAM-ER precision bombs with a range of up to 72 km and GPS guidance. The US Department of Defense has not officially confirmed the shipment of such munitions. However, on December 21, the Pentagon reported that the next package of military assistance to Ukraine would include “precision-guided aviation munitions”, without naming their model and quantity.
At the same time, The New York Times wrote that weapons supplied by Western countries to Ukraine are increasingly designed for attack, not defense. It was noted that armored vehicles, long-range missiles and modern tanks are currently being supplied from the West.
In turn, Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the same day, speaking with a message to the Federal Assembly, called Moscow’s retaliatory step in the event of the supply of long-range weapons to Kyiv. According to him, the more long-range ammunition will come to Ukraine, the further Russia will be forced to move Ukrainian troops away from its borders.
Western countries have stepped up military and financial support for Kiev against the backdrop of Russia’s special operation to protect Donbass, the decision on which was made against the background of the aggravation of the situation in the region due to shelling by the Ukrainian military.
For more up-to-date videos and details about the situation in Donbass, watch the Izvestia TV channel.
