Ukrainians have free rein to strike deep into Russian territory with Western weapons

(Patria) - Western partners are not imposing any restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine for use against Russian military targets, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said today, reports Kyiv Independent.

- There are no longer any restrictions on the range of weapons supplied to Ukraine - neither by the United Kingdom, France, nor by us. There are no restrictions from the US either.

Until recently, it was not possible

This means that Ukraine can now defend itself, for example, by attacking military positions in Russia. Until very recently, it could not do so, and apart from very rare exceptions, it did not do so - Merz stated during a discussion forum organized by the WDR channel.

Ukraine had previously received long-range missiles from the US, the UK, and France - including ATACMS, Storm Shadow, and SCALP - but was initially only allowed to deploy them against Russian military forces in occupied Ukrainian territories.

Only in late 2024 did the US Biden administration and other allies ease restrictions, allowing Ukraine to use long-range missiles against Russian military targets in border regions.

US President Donald Trump criticized former President Joe Biden's decision to ease restrictions while seeking to negotiate a peace agreement between Kyiv and Moscow.

French President Emmanuel Macron said today that he hopes his American counterpart Trump's "anger" towards Russia will finally "turn into action," especially regarding the threat of "massive" US-European sanctions, following a weekend of devastating Russian attacks on Ukraine.

The US President, who wants to end the war in Ukraine, said about his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin that he is "completely crazy".

- President Trump realized that when President Putin said on the phone that he was ready for peace, or when he told his envoys that he was ready for peace, he was actually lying.

In the last few hours, we have again seen Donald Trump's anger. It is a kind of impatience, and I hope it will turn into action. On several occasions in the past, the American leader has condemned the attacks.

I hope that the indignation he has expressed, and which we share with him, will translate into the ability of the US, together with the Europeans, to threaten Putin with a completely different and much more serious package of sanctions, which will enable us to stop Russia and finally end this conflict.

The credibility of the United States of America is at stake here - said Macron, adding that he had also discussed this with Trump.

Several European leaders, including the French President, traveled to Kyiv on May 10 and, together with Washington, issued an ultimatum to Russia for the immediate acceptance of a ceasefire.

They also threatened "massive sanctions." However, Moscow rejected this demand, opening the door to direct negotiations with Ukraine, which have so far made very little progress.

Deadline for Putin

The French President today again called for the renewal of the ultimatum.

- Our priority is to give President Putin a deadline so that everyone can finally be convinced that he is lying when he claims to want peace, and that after that deadline, the threat of massive sanctions will follow - said Macron.

Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen also joined in condemning the latest Russian attacks on Ukraine.

- Putin talks about negotiations during the day and bombs Ukraine at night - Frederiksen told reporters after a meeting of Nordic leaders in Finland.

She added that the Nordic leaders agreed that their countries would support Ukraine for as long as necessary, adding that support could mean military aid, investments in the Ukrainian defense industry, and cooperation with Ukrainian companies.

The Ukrainian military leadership reported today that Russia has suffered almost a million human losses since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022. In the last 24 hours alone, according to Ukrainian authorities, Russian forces lost an additional 1,000 soldiers.

Although Kyiv does not specify whether the figures include only killed or also wounded, missing, and captured, the general estimate is that it is the total number of casualties.

Ukraine publishes estimates of Russian forces' losses daily, while neither Moscow nor Kyiv disclose official data on their own casualties.

However, President Volodymyr Zelensky stated in February this year that more than 46,000 Ukrainian soldiers had been killed, while around 380,000 had been wounded. Tens of thousands are still listed as missing or are in Russian captivity.

At the end of last year, a Russian Deputy Minister of Defense inadvertently revealed that the Ministry had received over 48,000 requests for DNA testing from families of missing soldiers.

This was discussed on November 26, 2023, at a round table in the Russian Duma by Anna Tsiviljova, who pointed out that the samples were stored in an official database.

Due to high daily losses, estimated at around 1,000 soldiers, Moscow is increasingly resorting to recruiting foreign nationals.

Towards the end of 2023, according to data from Western intelligence services and Ukrainian sources, later confirmed by North Korea, about 12,000 North Korean soldiers joined the Russian army.

In April this year, Ukrainian forces also captured Chinese citizens fighting on the Russian side, and according to data from Ukrainian military intelligence, there are at least 160 Chinese fighters in Russian ranks.

The Ukrainian army warns that Russia is preparing for a new offensive during the summer, and fighting has intensified in recent weeks along the battlefield stretching over 1,000 kilometers. Particularly fierce clashes are being recorded in the areas of Pokrovsk and Kostyantynivka in the eastern Donetsk region.