Immediately before his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Selensky, Federal Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) confirmed that he does not want to further relax the rules for the use of German weapons in Ukraine’s defensive struggle against Russia. With regard to military support for Ukraine, the federal government has made “a few decisions that are very clear to me,” said the SPD politician. This also includes the fact that Germany will not lift range restrictions. “That is not compatible with my personal position. (…) We will not do that. And we have good reasons for that.”
Zelenskyj repeatedly asks the allies for long-range weapons so that they can attack Russian logistics and air force military airfields far behind the front line, even on Russian territory. The longest-range weapon supplied by Germany is the Mars II rocket launcher, which can hit targets at a distance of 84 kilometers. In a limited area around Kharkiv, the German government has authorized the use of this weapon or the Panzerhaubitze 2000 with a range of 56 kilometers against targets on Russian soil.
Scholz fears “great risk of escalation”
Scholz has also ruled out the delivery of long-range precision weapons to Ukraine in the future, regardless of decisions by the alliance partners. He recently reiterated his opposition to the delivery of the Taurus cruise missiles, which have a range from Ukraine to Moscow (around 500 kilometers), on the grounds that this would entail “a great risk of escalation.”
NATO partners the USA, Great Britain and France have delivered cruise missiles with ranges of up to 300 kilometers. A discussion is currently underway about whether the use of these weapons against targets on Russian territory should be permitted in principle. Zelensky is expected to discuss this with US President Joe Biden during his visit to Washington this week.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has stated that he would view the use of long-range Western precision weapons against targets deep within Russian territory as NATO involvement in the war.
Selenskyj thanks Germany
The Ukrainian president portrayed the meeting with Scholz as positive despite the rejection of the missiles. He thanked Germany for its help, he wrote on his Telegram channel. He mentioned Berlin’s contribution to the peace conference in Switzerland, which, according to Zelensky’s wishes, is to be followed by a second one this autumn. He did not explicitly address Scholz’s rejection of the missile deliveries, but only urged in general terms to demonstrate unity. “Together we have saved thousands of lives and can certainly give the whole of Europe more strength and security,” he wrote after the meeting.
Kyiv says situation in eastern Ukraine is tense
Despite the German no, Kiev is still counting on other partners to release the weapons. Ukraine wants to use these weapons primarily to fight Russian aircraft on the ground before they bomb defensive positions or cities in Ukraine.
The Ukrainian military says it is still under pressure in the east of the country. “The situation in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove area remains tense,” the General Staff in Kiev said in its evening situation report. Of the total of 125 Russian attacks along the front, more than 50 were carried out in this sector. “The enemy made the main efforts in the direction of Pokrovsk,” the Ukrainian military leadership specified.
While the Ukrainians themselves are confirmed by independent observers to have slowed down the Russian advance on the strategically important Pokrovsk, the situation in front of Kurachowe, further south, remains dangerous for the defenders. Due to advances by Russian troops near the mining town of Hirnyk, several units there are at risk of being encircled.
A similar bypass of the defensive positions is also indicated further south, near the town of Vuhledar, which the Russians tried in vain to take by frontal assault in the past.
Russian air attacks
In the evening and at night, Russia also launched further attacks on the Ukrainian hinterland. Air raid warnings were issued in several Ukrainian regions. According to authorities, a critical infrastructure facility was hit in the southern Ukrainian region of Zaporizhia. In addition, a shell hit a residential building, killing one person and injuring two others, wrote the military governor of Zaporizhia, Ivan Fedorov.
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