NATOchief urges easing weapon use restrictions for Ukraine

Jens Stoltenberg announced on Thursday that "Ukrainians have the right to self-defence, including by striking military targets outside their territory." According to the NATO Secretary General, Alliance members should reconsider the limitations on using weapons they provide to Kyiv.

"Allies are delivering many different types of military support to Ukraine and some of them have imposed some restrictions on the use of these weapons.... These are national decisions," Stoltenberg said in Prague during an informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers.

"But we must also consider how the course of this war is changing. In the beginning, nearly all the fighting occurred deep inside Ukraine's territory. In recent weeks and months, heavy battles have been occurring along the border between Ukraine and Russia, in the Kharkiv region," he added.

The NATO Secretary General emphasized that currently, "we see that the Russians, being on their side of the border, which more or less is the front line, with their artillery, rocket launchers, aeroplanes, weapon and fuel depots – are safer than if they were being attacked by the latest equipment that Ukraine has received."

He therefore believes that "the time has come to reconsider these limitations to allow Ukrainians to defend themselves."

"Ukraine has, according to international law, the right to self-defence, to defend themselves, and the right of self-defence includes also striking targets outside Ukraine, legitimate military targets inside Russia," he observed.

The NATO Secretary General also said that strengthening the Alliance must continue in light of Russian aggression and growing global competition. "For that to happen, allies must invest more," he pointed out.

He recalled that in 2014, during the summit in Wales, when NATO member countries committed to spending at least 2% of their GDP on defence, only the United Kingdom, the United States, and Greece met this newly adopted commitment.

He noted that a report published in February indicated that 18 out of 32 countries spent at least 2% of their GDP.

"However, I expect that this number will increase before the NATO summit in Washington in July," he said. He pointed out that since then, Sweden, which meets this requirement, has joined the Alliance. Stoltenberg also mentioned Norway but emphasised that some allies are already very close. He expressed hope that there will be 20 or more such countries by the summit.