Only Three Administrations Want Ukraine to Fight With One Hand
Will the bubble they have surrounded themselves with burst?
Here is the list of world leaders who support Ukraine fighting with both hands.
Finland:
“Russia is conducting an illegal aggressive war in Ukraine, and Ukraine has the right to self-defense under Article 51 of the UN Charter,” Elina Valtonen, the head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (L)
Estonia:
“In addition to ammunition and air defence, two things can help Ukraine reach the tipping point to win the war: Increase training for Ukrainian fighters. Allow Ukraine to strike military targets in Russia,” Hanno Pevkur, Minister of Defence of the Republic of Estonia (L)
Latvia:
“What we see is the consequence of our inability to provide Ukraine with weapons and also putting restrictions [on using] those weapons to strike military targets in Russia.” Latvia’s President Edgars Rinkēvičs (L)
Lithuania:
“They (Ukrainian armed forces) should be able to strike Russian territory, supply lines and troops preparing to attack Ukraine. Only one side obeys the rules. We must abandon these rules that we ourselves have created,” Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis (L)
Sweden:
“As long as the military actions comply with the laws of war, Sweden stands behind international law and Ukraine’s right to defend itself”, Defense Minister Pål Jonson (L)
Poland:
“Ukraine can use [the weapons] as it sees fit. The Polish position is that there should be no restrictions in this regard. Ukraine should be able to fight with the equipment it receives, because that is why it receives this equipment, to be effective.
Ukraine is being restricted by some countries and this should end”, Deputy defense minster of Poland Cezary Tomczyk (L)
Netherlands:
“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”, Kajsa Ollongren, the Minister of Defence of the Netherlands. (L)
According to the Dutch Foreign Ministry: “The Netherlands does not impose legal limitations on the use of weapons supplied by The Netherlands above or on Russian soil.” (L)
Czechia:
“As a country under attack, Ukraine certainly has every right to use all means of defence,” Prime Minister Petr Fiala (L)
Denmark:
“You are welcome to use what we have donated to Ukraine, also outside of Ukraine — that is, on Russian targets — if it is within international law,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen. (L)
Canada:
“And Canada has no conditions for the use of the transferred weapons to Ukraine, and therefore we will continue to work with the Ukrainian armed forces,” Melanie Joly, Foreign Affairs Minister. (L)
Great Britain:
“Ukraine absolutely has the right to strike Russian targets with the weapons that they have received from the United Kingdom,” said David Cameron, Minister of Foreign Affairs (L)
France:
If we tell (the Ukrainians) you do not have the right to reach the point from which the missiles are fired, we are in fact telling them that we are delivering weapons to you, but you cannot defend yourself.
We have to allow [Ukrainians] to neutralize the military sites from which the missiles are fired, but not other civilian or military targets. We’re not being escalatory by doing this”, French President Emmanuel Macron (L)
The nays are the root cause of Putin’s ability to continue the war. They are the reason the cost of the war keeps rising and why Ukraine is unable to achieve victory. They offer support without a strategy to win. They give Putin the confidence that if he keeps prolonging the war, he will eventually prevail. They help Ukraine, but they also help the Kremlin. The net result is a grinding war of attrition with no resolution.
United States:
American weapons must be used “inside Ukraine’s sovereign territory”- U.S. National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan (L)
Germany: No
We really need to appreciate the kind of unity the Biden administration and the Scholz administration have. It is something to truly admire. An extensive investigation by a German newspaper revealed the extent of this unity and how it impacts the war.
According to Bild:
Ukraine is also not allowed to use Western air defense against attacking Russian aircraft; it has to wait until the bombers have released their cruise missiles and they are already over Ukrainian territory to fight them.
According to BILD information, the Ukrainian army used a “Patriot” system from Germany at least once to take action itself. The reaction: angry calls from Berlin and Washington and threats to stop supplying anti-aircraft missiles if such an incident were to happen again.
Belgium: Told Ukraine that the F16s they are donating can only be used inside Ukraine. I am glad they did not ask them to keep the F16s inside the hangar and wash it twice a day.
How the nays are emboldening Putin:
“This constant escalation can lead to serious consequences. In Europe, especially in small countries, they should be aware of what they are playing with,” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Bullies are not born. We create them.
Ukraine’s Request
“We, and this is a fact, cannot risk the support of our partners — that is why we are not using our partners’ arms to attack Russian territory. That’s why we are asking: Please give us the permission to do that,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy (L)
I have nothing more to add.
From where did we find these three?
Update: 31 May 2024 (one day after publishing this story)
After a series of events that unfolded on May 30, 2024, the Biden administration lifted the restrictions on Ukraine using American weapons to strike targets inside Russia. The German government followed suit. More updates on the developments can be found here.
The nays have given in.
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