“You have to balance the risk of escalation and the need for Ukrainians to defend themselves” – Borrell

On May 28, the European Union's defense ministers are having a meeting to discuss whether to permit Ukraine to use weapons provided by member states to strike targets within Russian territory.

Bloomberg reports this.

The head of the EU foreign policy department, Josep Borrell, said that such a step is acceptable from the point of view of international law since Moscow's attacks on Ukraine are coming from the territory of the Russian Federation.

"I'm sure that some will bring up the risk of escalation, but you have to balance the risk of escalation and the need to protect Ukraine," said the European diplomat.

At the same time, he stated that the current situation is "completely asymmetric."

In addition, the defense ministers of Estonia, Latvia, and the Netherlands have expressed their support for this idea.

In turn, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg emphasized that Ukraine's use of Western weapons against targets in Russia would not make NATO part of the conflict.

"Lifting the restrictions is a national decision, not a decision of the entire NATO. Some allies did not introduce such restrictions on weapons they put on Ukraine, while others did. I believe that now is the time to review these restrictions," the NATO Secretary General said.

The day before, the head of the Alliance redoubled efforts to call on allies to lift restrictions on hitting targets in Russia.

"When we put weapons in Ukraine, they are no longer ours, but Ukrainian, and they have the right to self-defense, including hitting legitimate military targets outside Ukraine and in Russia," Stoltenberg said at the NATO Parliamentary Assembly in Bulgaria.

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President Volodymyr Zelensky emphasized that the possibility of using Western weapons on the territory of Russia is not an offensive but the protection of Ukrainians.

In turn, the Helsinki Commission of the USA also stated that the United States of America should allow Ukraine to strike with American weapons against the forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the border regions of Russia.

It should be noted that Sweden allowed Ukraine to use its weapons to attack Russia.

However, the Pentagon said that American weapons are intended for use on the territory of Ukraine.

On May 28, the Prime Minister of Belgium explained during a press conference that the 30 F-16 fighter jets that Belgium has pledged to hand over to Ukraine can only be used on Ukrainian territory. The same applies to other weapons provided for in the security agreement.

Until now, the US and Germany have been particularly wary of sending weapons to Ukraine capable of hitting targets inside Russia due to the risk of a broader conflict.

After several months of requests from Ukraine, the US sent long-range ATACMS missiles to Ukraine earlier this year but noted that they can only be used on occupied territory.