Germany huffs and puffs on long-range weapons for Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced that Germany, and perhaps other Western allies, would be removing range restrictions on Western-supplied missiles to Ukraine.

"There are no longer any range restrictions on weapons delivered to Ukraine, neither by the British nor by the French nor by us nor by the Americans,” the newly elected Chancellor told attendees at the WDR Europaforum 2025 on Monday.

“We will do everything in our power to continue supporting Ukraine. This also means no longer having any range restrictions on the weapons we supply. Ukraine can now also defend itself by attacking military positions in Russia,” Merz posted on social media.

It is unclear if Merz was referring to a new, unannounced policy from the Trump administration or a previous decision by former President Biden to allow Ukraine to use Army Tactical Missile Systems (ATACMs) deep into Russian territory in November 2024 when referencing “the Americans.” The Kyiv Post reported that President Trump is “seriously considering” dropping the remaining Biden-era restrictions.

For his part, Kremlin Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov called the decision “rather dangerous, adding, "if such decisions are made, they will absolutely go against our aspirations to reach a political settlement and the efforts being made within the framework of the settlement.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin also warned last September that “NATO countries, the US, European countries are at war with Russia,” if they allowed their missiles to be fired by Ukraine deep into Russian territory.

The significance of Merz’s announcement is unclear. German Finance Minister Lars Klingbeil told reporters, “there is no new agreement that goes beyond what the previous government had in place.”

Additionally, Merz himself said on Tuesday, “yesterday in Berlin, I described something that has been happening for months: namely, that Ukraine has the right to use the weapons it receives, even beyond its own borders, against military targets on Russian territory.”

Despite Ukraine's requests, Germany has yet to provide Kyiv with weapons that could reach deep into Russia, as the previous German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, believed it to be a step too far. However, Merz and Zelenskyy are expected to discuss the potential for Germany to provide long-range Taurus missiles to Ukraine during their meeting in Berlin tomorrow.

“We saw last year with Russia's deployment of Oreshnik how Putin consistently over-escalates, commented former British diplomat Ian Proud. “So, the question for Merz is, what escalation card will he play next if Putin launches another Oreshnik or, heaven forbid, something worse? If he hasn't thought that through, and I worry that he has not, then he should reconsider, or risk looking weak and feckless when he backtracks.”