NATO Weapons Must Not Be Used to Attack Russian Territory, Says Scholz

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said that there are restrictions on how Western-supplied weapons to Ukraine should be used by Kyiv's forces in the war. His comments were picked up on by Russian media.

"It is very important for us that the weapons that we supply and with which Ukraine can defend itself are not used to attack Russian territory," Scholz said in Bendorf near Koblenz in western Germany on Monday, according to reports.

In April, German Minister of Defense Boris Pistorius had expressed limited support for Ukraine conducting operations on Russian territory "to cut off their supply routes." German newspaper Die Zeit reported Pistorius saying that this was "as long as cities, civilians, civilian objects are not attacked."

Also last month, the U.S. said it backed Ukrainian strikes in the Donbas region and Crimea as they are under Russian occupation. However, America did not encourage attacks outside of Ukraine, according to White House spokesperson John Kirby.

Kremlin press secretary Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Tuesday that Germany has no way to ensure its weapons are not used on Russian territory.

Scholz said on Monday there was a consensus in the West that support for Kyiv should not lead to an escalation or confrontation between NATO and Moscow. He added that Berlin had decided to supply weapons to Ukraine "acting in concert with our partners." Scholz said that, from August, Ukraine will also receive ammunition for self-propelled artillery systems (SAU) from Germany.

While Berlin has been a significant donor of military aid to Ukraine, Scholz had been criticized earlier in the war for a perceived delay in agreeing to supply Ukraine with some crucial weapons, such as Leopard 2 tanks.

In February, Scholz had criticized what he believed was competition among some countries over who can deliver more and better weapons to Ukraine. Russia has said that the supply of these by NATO countries to Ukraine showed that it was directly involved in the war started by Vladimir Putin.

Kyiv's allies reiterated their military support for Kyiv at the Ramstein air base in Germany in April, ahead of Ukraine's widely anticipated spring counteroffensive against Russian forces.

Leon Hartwell is a senior associate at LSE IDEAS, the London School of Economics' foreign policy think tank. He told Newsweek that a successful counteroffensive was critical for Ukraine to demonstrate to its allies that their recent investments are paying off, "thereby silencing those who are pushing for negotiations" to end the war.

"Ukraine has proven to be tremendously creative and adaptable on the battlefield," Hartwell said, "but I think a successful spring offensive will be politically significant. It will allow each NATO member state to go back to their domestic audience and justify recent and future military support for Ukraine."

Newsweek has contacted the Ukrainian defense ministry via email for comment.

Correction 5/11/23, 6:10 a.m. ET: This article was updated to correct Leon Hartwell's job title from visiting fellow to senior associate at LSE IDEAS.