BERLIN (AP) 鈥 Germany鈥檚 new chancellor said Monday that his country and other major allies are no longer imposing any range restrictions on weapons supplied to Ukraine as it fights the Russian invasion.
has plunged into diplomatic efforts to try to secure a ceasefire and keep Western support for Ukraine intact since becoming Germany鈥檚 leader nearly three weeks ago.
On Monday, he said that 鈥渢here are no longer any range restrictions for weapons that have been delivered to Ukraine 鈥 neither by the British, nor by the French, nor by us, and not by the Americans either."
鈥淭hat means Ukraine can also defend itself by, for example, attacking military positions in Russia," Merz said at a forum organized by WDR public television. "Until a while ago, it couldn鈥檛. 鈥 It can now.鈥
鈥淲e call this 鈥榣ong-range fire鈥 in jargon, also supplying Ukraine with weapons that attack military targets in the hinterland,鈥 he added.
He didn't elaborate, and it wasn't clear whether he was referring to the on longer-range weapons late last year.
Commenting on Merz鈥檚 statement, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said that a decision to lift range restrictions would be 鈥渜uite dangerous鈥 and 鈥渞un contrary to our efforts to reach a political settlement.鈥
Germany has been the second-biggest supplier of to Ukraine after the United States.
Merz鈥檚 government has been tightlipped on whether it will supply Taurus long-range cruise missiles, something his predecessor, Olaf Scholz, refused to do and Merz advocated for as opposition leader. The government has said it will no longer provide full details of the weapons it is supplying to Ukraine, unlike Scholz鈥檚 administration, citing the need for 鈥渟trategic ambiguity.鈥
Taurus missiles have a range of up to 500 kilometers (310 miles).
