Which NATO countries support Ukraine's strikes on Russia

Photo: Which NATO countries have already allowed Ukraine to strike at Russia (Getty Images)

Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the issue of Ukrainian strikes with Western weapons against targets on Russian territory has been taboo. Recently, however, NATO countries that have been providing Ukraine with weapons started to change their position.

Which countries have already expressed support for Ukraine's strikes with their weapons on Russian territory, can be found in the material by RBC-Ukraine below.

As of today, more than 10 NATO countries have already declared their support for Ukrainian strikes on Russian territory. However, the United States and Germany are not yet among them.

As the US presidential administration has repeatedly stated, Washington does not support or encourage Ukraine's strikes on Russian territory. However, in May, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated that Ukraine has the right to decide how to use the weapons it receives from the United States.

At the same time, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called it unfair to restrict Ukraine's right to strike Russia with Western weapons, as the Russian army has no restrictions on strikes on Ukrainian territory.

Countries that are not opposed to Ukraine striking Russia

Britain

Britain was the first to declare that Ukraine has the right to strike military targets in Russia with British weapons. British Foreign Secretary David Cameron said this in early May.

"Ukraine has that right. Just as Russia is striking inside Ukraine, you can quite understand why Ukraine feels the need to make sure it's defending itself," Cameron said.

France

French President Emmanuel Macron has also expressed support for Ukrainian strikes on military targets in Russia. According to him, France should allow Ukraine to "neutralize the military objects from which missiles are launched".

Sweden Swedish Defense Minister Paul Johnson is also not opposed to Ukraine striking Russia with Swedish weapons. As he explained in a commentary to the Swedish media, this possibility is provided for by international law.

"Ukraine has the right to defend itself by means of military actions directed at the enemy's territory if the military actions are in accordance with the laws of war. Sweden supports international law and Ukraine's right to self-defense," the Swedish minister said.

Czechia According to Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal, Czech Prime Minister Petr Fiala supports Ukraine's right to strike Russian territory with weapons received from Western countries.

"We also discussed the possibility of using the partners' weapons in defense on the aggressor's territory. Grateful to the Prime Minister for his support in this area," he said after the meeting with his Czech counterpart.

Poland Ukraine has the right to fight Russia as it sees fit, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk recently said in an interview with Polish radio.

He emphasized that Poland does not apply any restrictions on the use of Polish weapons by Ukraine.

Finland

"Finland does not impose any specific restrictions on material assistance to Ukraine but assumes it will be used in accordance with international law. Russia is waging an illegal aggressive war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter. This includes strikes on military targets on the aggressor's territory that are necessary for self-defense," stated Finnish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Elina Valtonen.

At the same time, according to Finnish Defense Minister Antti Häkkänen, Ukraine's strikes against Russia are restricted mainly by those countries that have provided the Ukrainian army with long-range weapons.

Estonia Countries that provide long-range weapons to Ukraine should give the Ukrainian army permission to use them to hit military targets in Russia, Estonian Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur recently said.

“Ukraine has its own drones that hit targets behind the front line in the enemy's very deep rear, at a distance of more than 1,000 kilometers, so, of course, I sincerely hope that all countries that have long-range weapons will give Ukraine permission because it is not normal that Russia attacks from deep inside its territory, while Ukrainians are fighting with one hand behind their backs,” he explained his position.

Latvia In early May, Latvian Foreign Minister Baiba Braže said that some countries had already allowed Ukraine to strike Russia with their weapons, but did it privately. Recently, the President of the country, Edgars Rinkēvičs, publicly supported Ukraine's right to strike Russia with Western weapons and called on partners to lift their restrictions.

Lithuania Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis also called on Western partners to allow Ukraine to use their weapons to strike at Russian territory.

“We made a mistake from the very beginning by limiting the Ukrainians, because it could have been seen as an escalation,” he said in an interview with the French TV channel LCI.

Netherlands According to Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Ollongren, Ukraine can use all means to repel Russian aggression.

“It is quite obvious that they have to strike inside Russia as well, so from my point of view, this should not be a subject of discussion, and I hope that other countries that have a different position will change it,” she said before a meeting of EU defense ministers in Brussels.

Canada Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said that Ottawa did not impose any restrictions when it transferred its weapons to Ukraine.

According to her, Russia has no red lines and that is why it is necessary to help Ukraine and show that Canada is on its side. Canada has no conditions for the supply of weapons to Ukraine and will continue to work with the Ukrainian armed forces, she added.

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, whose term will end this summer, called on the alliance countries to allow Ukraine to strike Russian territory with Western weapons.

The head of European diplomacy, Josep Borrell, made the same call to EU countries. "The risk of escalation I’m sure will be put on the table by some but you have to balance the risk of escalation and the need for Ukraine to defend," he said.

Sources: statements by Ukrainian and Western officials, materials by Reuters, LCI, and Hallandsposten.